Chapter 290: Hidden Reasons

"It has been a few months, yet Junior Brother's cultivation seems to have grown much stronger?" Third Senior Brother Chen Ran asked with a face full of surprise.

"By the way, Fourth Senior Brother, what realm is Junior Brother at now exactly?" Fifth Senior Brother Cao Yang asked curiously.

Chen Yang gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and said, "Don't ask. Even if you ask, I don't know. I am currently at the mid-stage of the Danyuan Realm, and I cannot see through Junior Brother's realm at all."

Everyone was stunned at the same time, all staring blankly at Chen Yang. A moment later, their expressions began to turn incredibly strange, all looking at him as if they had seen a ghost.

Just now, everyone had been too excited, so no one had gone to probe Chen Yang's cultivation. Now that they were suddenly looking squarely at him, they discovered that Chen Yang's aura was likewise so powerful that they could not see through it at all.

Thus, after a moment of incomparable silence, the group surrounded Chen Yang, clamoring and beginning to inquire how he had cultivated so rapidly to such a realm over these eight years.

In eight years, to go from a small cultivator at the mid-to-late Kaiyuan Realm to a great expert at the mid-stage of the Danyuan Realm in almost one leap—this speed of advancement could absolutely be called terrifying across the entire Shenzhou.

Currently, with the Black Wind raging and Nether Beasts flooding the land, the Kaiyuan Realm had no way to survive at all, and the Zhenyuan Realm was likewise cannon fodder. The only ones who could truly play a role in this great war to quell the Nether Beast disaster and ultimately gain something and achieve success were cultivators at or above the Danyuan Realm.

Ever since Xu Chen went missing after falling into Black Wind Ridge for the second time, the two great arrays at Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley had exploded within a single day. The Nether Beast space-time could no longer be resisted at all, and the cultivators of Yuqing Hall, Longmen Mountain, and many other Immortal Sects had suffered heavy losses and had long since completely withdrawn from the Southern Border territory.

The Taiyuan Sect had retreated even further, thousands of miles away, completely abandoning the extermination of Nether Beasts. On ordinary days, they only arranged for disciples to ride third-tier Spirit Sparrows to check on the spread of the Black Wind, just to keep informed.

According to the plans of Xuanchen Zhenjun, the Taiyuan Sect did not intend to continue wading into these muddy waters, because it was completely like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; they were simply powerless.

However, it was a pity that the Taiyuan Sect still did not escape this disaster, and even less could they remain aloof from it.

From the moment Second Senior Sister Yao Yuzhu and Third Senior Sister Zhao Xuan were captured by people from Luofu Mountain, this had turned into a grudge between Immortal Sects.

Although Xuanchen Zhenjun swallowed his anger and warned everyone not to resist or provoke, the gloom on his face when he left the sect, which was almost devoid of emotion, had already revealed his incomparable fury.

In the future, there would inevitably be a life-and-death battle between the Taiyuan Sect and the Xuanhua Sect, and perhaps a True Monarch would fall.

This had nothing to do with morality.

It was purely a crack in the Dao heart; if not resolved, the Dao heart would never be complete from then on, and one's realm would cease to advance.

The group of senior brothers and sisters of the Taiyuan Sect had deep affection for one another, but their cultivation was too poor, and they were completely helpless.

The Xuanhua Sect of Luofu Mountain in the Jin Kingdom was ranked eighth among the ten great Immortal Sects of Shenzhou. Within the sect, there were four Spirit Realm Great Cultivators, nearly twenty Danyuan Realm Elders, and over five thousand inner and outer sect disciples combined. The Supreme Elder with the highest cultivation was already a mid-stage Zhenyuan Realm Great Cultivator, and their strength was a large margin stronger than even Yuqing Hall.

Such a powerful, large-scale Immortal Sect was far from something that could be contended with by only one mid-stage Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator and two early-stage Danyuan Realm Elders.

The opponent only needed to blow a breath, and the Taiyuan Sect would vanish into smoke and clouds from then on.

Therefore, no matter how angry Lu Yuan and the other disciples were, they could only hold it in.

When one's strength is inferior to others, relying solely on anger is of no use.

Moreover, the Immortal World was never a place that spoke of reason.

This humiliation, aside from swallowing it with forced endurance, was something no one could currently recover.

Therefore, the entire Taiyuan Sect had recently been holding back a foul breath and cultivating like mad.

But this kind of normal cultivation was merely a slow grind; how could it ever be a quick success that advances a thousand miles in a day?

According to normal judgment, even for Golden Core, the group would not be able to succeed without twenty or thirty years. Furthermore, the Eldest Senior Brother Qin Zhao, who had the highest cultivation, had self-detonated his dantian and his Dao foundation was destroyed, making him a cripple. Meanwhile, Second Senior Sister Yao Yuzhu, who had similar cultivation, had been captured and her life or death was currently unknown; one did not even know if she would suffer humiliation.

What worried the group even more was Junior Sister Zhao Xuan.

She was not only a Personal Disciple of Xuanchen Zhenjun, but she had also not yet reached Foundation Establishment; if she encountered danger, she would not even have a shred of strength to protect herself.

But the realm of Chen Yang, who had suddenly returned after being missing for eight years, ignited everyone's hope and gave them the confidence and motivation to seek revenge.

Not to mention the group of senior brothers and sisters outside who were currently agitated, after a burst of anger erupted from Xu Chen on the main hall, his aura quickly retracted and vanished. He suppressed his anger, sat down, and carefully inquired about the cause and effect of the whole matter.

And after clarifying the whereabouts of Yao Yuzhu and Zhao Xuan, he also slowly calmed down.

He knew very well how strong Yuqing Hall was; three True Monarchs were enough to suppress the territory of a kingdom.

Then, with four True Monarchs sitting in the Xuanhua Sect, which was ranked two places higher, their strength was even more terrifying.

Although his current strength was much stronger than it had been half a year ago, he was at most at the early stage of Spirit Transformation and absolutely could not contend with a late-stage Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator.

One must know that human cultivators are not Nether Beasts or Demon Beasts; their great strength comes not only from their realm and cultivation, but also from a vast array of Magic Treasures and Magic Spells, and their wisdom is of the highest order.

Xu Chen could face third-tier or even fourth-tier Nether Beasts, but his strength relied merely on the Soul stabilized after the fusion of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, which weakened the advantages the Nether Beasts were best at; that was why he could barely contend and maneuver.

But if it were replaced by a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator, this little advantage of his would vanish into thin air.

Of course, he still had means to escape with his life, but if he couldn't win, just escaping was of no use.

After all, to save people back, one ultimately had to rely on strength.

Seeing that the coldness on Xu Chen's face and the anger in his eyes seemed to be slowly receding, Guilingzi knew that Xu Chen's anger was actually even greater, so he spoke up: "Daoist Friend Xu, no need to be angry. A mere Xuanhua Sect—this poor Daoist will make a trip for you and simply demand the people back!"

Upon hearing this, Xuanhe Zhenren and Xuanfeng Zhenren opened their mouths wide. A moment later, with excited expressions, they both cupped their hands and said, "If Senior Guilingzi takes action to help, this matter will certainly be without worry."

Xu Chen, however, remained silent for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "No. Senior has just returned to the Mortal World and does not need to be so tired and troubled. As one of the top ten large-scale Immortal Sects of Shenzhou, the Xuanhua Sect surely only wanted to obtain the pill formula for the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill and will certainly not make things difficult for the two senior sisters. Otherwise, if the news spreads, I fear they would not be able to keep their face. Therefore, this disciple believes that the safety of the two senior sisters should be of no concern. However, this foul breath is hard to vent, and our Taiyuan Sect must certainly recover our standing. Moreover, this is not just a slap to the face of our Taiyuan Sect alone; I fear the faces of Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain cannot hang on either."

Guilingzi nodded and said, "Indeed. As the largest Immortal Sect in the Song Kingdom territory, Yuqing Hall allowed an Immortal Sect from the Jin Kingdom to come and humiliate and provoke them; this should not have happened..."

Having said this, Guilingzi snorted coldly and continued: "I don't know how Yuqing Hall has been getting by, to actually be unable to even protect its own territory. What face do they have left to exist in the Immortal World?"

The two old Daoists, Xuanhe and Xuanfeng, had cold sweat on their foreheads and dared not respond.

Xu Chen, however, shook his head: "This matter cannot be blamed on Yuqing Hall either. After all, the Xuanhua Sect's strength is much greater, and currently, the Nether Beasts are flooding and raging. I imagine Senior Chixia also did not want to fall out over this matter. Moreover, the disparity in strength is quite obvious; not to mention that they cannot win, once two of the top ten Immortal Sects tear their faces apart, the matter would be even harder to resolve."

Xuanhe Zhenren hurriedly nodded: "That is indeed the case. When Senior Brother left, he had also said as much. If we could hand over the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill, this matter might have ended. In reality, this might not have been the intention of the Xuanhua Sect alone."

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment, pondered for a while, and soon roughly understood the entanglements involved, so he said: "It seems the efficacy of the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill is too heaven-defying and has already aroused the covetousness of all the large-scale Immortal Sects in the top ten of Shenzhou!"

At this time, Guilingzi asked curiously: "Daoist Friend Xu, I wonder what kind of miraculous Spirit Pill this Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill you speak of is, that it could actually arouse the interest of all the top ten large-scale Immortal Sects in Shenzhou?"

Xu Chen probed his Divine Sense into his Storage Bracelet to take a look, then took out a Jade Bottle and handed it to Guilingzi: "It is not any extraordinary Spirit Pill, but it does indeed have some miraculous effects. It can strengthen the Three Souls and Seven Souls and the physical body; it counts as a type of pill that improves aptitude. However, refining this pill does not require a special pill formula or method, but rather has other quirks. Even if this junior were to say it, no one would be able to refine it!"

Xuanhe and Xuanfeng Zhenren were suddenly dazed. A moment later, Xuanfeng Zhenren asked: "Are you saying this Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill did not incorporate Soul Power?"

Xu Chen did not want to continue hiding this matter, so he nodded: "Master and Third Elder, please forgive me. This disciple did indeed hide some things back then, but it was not intentional; there were other hidden reasons. This Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill indeed did not incorporate the Soul Power of Nether Beast Soul Beads, but rather incorporated another type of special aura that even this disciple cannot understand. As for the source, this disciple still cannot disclose it for now!"

The two old Daoists looked at each other in dismay. Xuanhe Zhenren sighed and waved his hand: "Since you cannot say, then don't. This poor Daoist has no intention of blaming you; you must handle everything with care yourself."

Xu Chen gave a bitter smile, bowed respectfully, and said: "Thank you, Master and Third Elder, for your understanding."

Guilingzi knew deeply that Xu Chen harbored a massive secret. He was already too late to repay this debt of saving his life, and he would certainly not take the initiative to pry into Xu Chen's privacy. Therefore, he curiously opened the Jade Bottle and poured out a Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill to examine it closely.

This was a batch Xu Chen had refined back when he was at Yuqing Hall, and he had always kept a few bottles on him. However, after falling into Minghuang, he had used most of them to save the dormant warriors of the Wind Clan and other basic human tribes; now, only this half-bottle remained.

This type of Spirit Pill was originally refined using the lowest-grade Spirit Medicine, and its Spirit Qi was weak, with the aura fluctuations of at most a second-grade early-stage Spirit Pill. In the eyes of ordinary Kaiyuan Realm or Zhenyuan Realm disciples, it was still considered powerful, but in the eyes of a True Monarch, it was no different from mud balls or sand and dirt.

However, Guilingzi did not show the slightest bit of contempt.

Whatever Xu Chen takes out is bound to be extraordinary.

Furthermore, something coveted by all ten great Immortal Sects of the Divine Continent is definitely not as ordinary as it appears before one's eyes.

Sure enough, when he projected his Divine Sense into the Spirit Pill for a moment, his expression suddenly changed drastically, and his hand trembled, causing the Spirit Pill to nearly fall to the ground.

(End of this chapter)