Chapter 99: Seeking Comfort (3rd Update)

"Wow, Junior Brother, you actually have two storage bags!"

Seeing Xu Chen with one storage bag hanging at his waist and another in his hand, a group of senior brothers and sisters immediately surrounded him with excitement.

Xu Chen felt a bit smug; since Master had tossed him the one belonging to Taiwuzi, it had naturally become his personal property.

The group of senior brothers who did not yet have storage bags touched and prodded him with envy. Xu Chen hurriedly covered his storage bags and shouted, "No rush, no rush! The extra storage bags can definitely be traded, but you must bring out things that satisfy me."

"Little brother, what do you want?" Fifth Senior Brother asked impatiently.

"A single third-grade spirit talisman will do for a trade!" Xu Chen said loudly.

The group of senior brothers and sisters instantly let out a chorus of groans. Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister likely had third-grade spirit talismans bestowed upon them by Xuanchenzi, but since they already had storage bags, they naturally wouldn't trade them. As for the group of Kaiyuan Realm senior brothers who lacked storage bags, they wouldn't have third-grade spirit talismans in their possession either.

Thus, this was a dead end.

Amidst the clamor, Eldest Senior Brother pushed the other senior brothers aside, looked at Xu Chen earnestly, and asked, "Junior Brother, what do you need a third-grade spirit talisman for?"

Xu Chen said, "Naturally for self-preservation. If it weren't for Daoist Friend Lan You having two third-grade spirit talismans, we would have all died in Black Wind Ridge."

Upon hearing this, Eldest Senior Brother nodded and said, "I do have two third-grade spirit talismans. I can spare one for you, but I don't want a storage bag; I need other things of equal value."

Xu Chen was overjoyed and said, "I can buy it with Spirit Stones."

Eldest Senior Brother's eyes lit up and he said, "I happen to need Spirit Stones recently, but how many do you have?"

Xu Chen's brow twitched and he chuckled dryly, "I have some, but not many. How about fifty?"

Eldest Senior Brother's face turned black instantly.

Xu Chen hurriedly said, "I'll add more, twenty more."

Eldest Senior Brother still shook his head.

Finally, Xu Chen gritted his teeth and said, "One hundred Spirit Stones. This is my entire fortune. If you won't sell, I'll go buy from Second Senior Sister."

Second Senior Sister was already a woman over thirty, but cultivators often maintained their youth, and women paid even more attention to their appearance, so she looked only a few years older than Xu Chen. Hearing this, she smiled and nodded, "Alright, I'll trade with Junior Brother."

As she spoke, Yao Yuzhu took out a cyan Jade Slip. Once it was revealed, one could sense a sharp aura through their Divine Sense; it was clearly the wind-type Magic Spell that the Great Elder excelled at.

Xu Chen then very readily took out one hundred Spirit Stones from his storage bag to pay the bill and tucked this third-grade wind-type spirit talisman into his pocket.

Eldest Senior Brother became anxious upon seeing this, glared at Yao Yuzhu, and said, "You're being unreasonable here. Is there no rule of first come, first served?"

Yao Yuzhu curled her lips and said, "You're the Eldest Senior Brother, yet you have no sense of respecting the old and cherishing the young. Junior Brother barely survived a great disaster and returned alive; shouldn't you give him one as a congratulatory gift?"

Eldest Senior Brother was left red-faced and embarrassed. The group of senior brothers and sisters joined in the teasing. Eldest Senior Brother clutched his storage bag tightly, looking extremely reluctant, but finally had to take out a white Jade Talisman and said, "Fine, take this Protective Talisman as a gift!"

Xu Chen grinned from ear to ear, snatched it into his hand, quickly stuffed it into his storage bag, and then began bowing to everyone, begging for comfort.

Seeing this, the other senior brothers and sisters had no choice but to twitch their faces and each take out a gift. There were Spirit Materials, spirit talismans, Spirit Pills, and Spirit Medicine; in any case, the grade couldn't be too low, otherwise, a gift for surviving a great disaster wouldn't be presentable. Even Zhao Xuan giggled and stuffed a bottle of Great Origin Pill into his arms.

Thus, in the blink of an eye, Xu Chen collected seven or eight more gifts, smiling so hard his back teeth were exposed.

Seeing the sour expressions on the faces of their fellow disciples, Second Senior Sister Yao Yuzhu was in a great mood; she hummed a Daoist tune and drifted away with the wind.

"Senior brothers and sisters, I've just returned after being out for a month or so. I'll go back and take a look first, let's gather again tomorrow!"

Once Xu Chen had his benefits, he vanished in a flash. However, before leaving, he took out a handful of Soul Beads and gave one to each of his senior brothers and sisters, which was not considered impolite. Thus, after the group of senior brothers and sisters expressed their rough affection by thumping his chest and patting his head, they finally let him leave.

"Junior Brother, wait for me! I left Xiaobai in the small cabin!"

Xu Chen stepped onto his Flying Sword and took off, and Zhao Xuan hurriedly released her Flying Sword to follow.

The group of senior brothers and sisters all had strange expressions, but none of them spoke until they saw two streaks of Escape Light land near the mountainside of the Medicine Garden. Only then did Fifth Senior Brother Cao Yang say:

"It's truly not easy for Junior Brother to have returned alive, but I'm afraid Junior Sister doesn't have much of a chance!"

Jiu Shixiong glared and said, "Why? Don't go spouting nonsense!"

Third Senior Brother Chen Ran said, "Although I don't like hearing what Fifth Junior Brother said, Junior Sister indeed has little chance. Her Dao foundation is damaged, and it is extremely difficult to repair; even the Great Elder finds it tricky. And after Junior Brother returned this time, his aura has changed drastically. His Soul is so strong that even I feel a sense of trepidation. His future achievements will no longer be what they once were. If Junior Sister's cultivation cannot progress, it is impossible for the two of them to become Daolu."

Eldest Senior Brother nodded and sighed, "We don't know the situation under Black Wind Ridge, but based on what Junior Brother described, being able to encounter an Ancient Fierce Beast and a Void Immortal certainly isn't as understated as he makes it sound. Don't you all find it strange? Junior Brother described the situation of fighting the Soul Beast in the cave very clearly and complexly, but he only had a few sparse sentences about what happened after meeting the Immortal. There must be many things hidden inside. Junior Brother's Soul has grown stronger and his aura has changed; perhaps he has received some enlightenment from the Immortal Wuyazi!"

The crowd's expressions changed instantly upon hearing this; thinking about it carefully, it was perfectly logical.

Because only in this way could one explain why, in less than a month, Xu Chen's changes could be so great and his Soul could be so strong.

Fifth Senior Brother Cao Yang frowned and said, "In that case, can the Great Elder and the four True Monarchs also think of what we can think of?"

Third Senior Brother Chen Ran nodded very affirmatively and said, "Isn't that obvious? Five great cultivators with heaven-reaching cultivation, including True Monarch Chixia who is already in the True Spirit Realm, how could they not know? They just know it in their hearts but don't want to expose it. Look at the end: before True Monarch Yuyang and True Monarch Baiyun left, they both invited Junior Brother to visit Yuqing Hall. Do you think they were impressed by Junior Brother's Kaiyuan Realm cultivation and wanted to make a friend? Definitely not. They just wanted to learn more about Wuyazi and Taixu Palace."

The group of senior brothers all nodded along. Jiu Shixiong suddenly frowned and said, "Do you think Yuqing Hall wants to set that Lan You up as a Daolu for Junior Brother?"

The crowd was stunned for a moment, and then their expressions became even stranger.

Everyone had seen the situation when Xu Chen and Lan You returned this time. Lan You's cultivation was higher than Xu Chen's, and she was older than him. Everything seemed fine when they returned, but she had been carried back by Junior Brother. Furthermore, according to Zhao Xuan, Lan You had wanted to kill Xu Chen the moment they met, which eventually forced Xu Chen to gamble on this life-and-death situation.

But the two who had been at each other's throats showed a completely different demeanor after returning. Although they still looked cold and didn't speak much to each other, the situation was actually becoming increasingly suspicious.

"It is indeed suspicious. Since Lan You was at odds with Junior Brother, she became a different person after coming out. Especially regarding the matter of meeting the Immortal, it was Junior Brother talking from beginning to end, and she was almost silent. In the end, she only said one sentence, but she was completely on Junior Brother's side. That is to say, the relationship between the two is no longer pure; otherwise, it wouldn't be like this," Fifth Senior Brother Cao Yang nodded and said.

Seventh Senior Sister Qu Mei raised her willow-leaf eyebrows and kicked Cao Yang in the butt, saying, "Can you stop spouting nonsense? Junior Brother is only fifteen; how 'impure' can he be?"

Cao Yang was about to retort, but Eldest Senior Brother waved his hand and said seriously, "Junior brothers and sisters, stop arguing. Do not discuss this matter casually, and absolutely do not let Junior Sister hear it. Alright, that's it for today, everyone disperse."

"Yes, Eldest Senior Brother!" The group of junior brothers and sisters hurriedly cupped their hands and then dispersed in different directions.

Xu Chen only thought his lying skills were superb and that he had deceived a group of Spirit Realm Great Cultivators.

But in reality, he had no idea that his lies were as transparent as "there is no silver three hundred taels here," and he hadn't even managed to deceive his fellow senior brothers and sisters of low cultivation.

Therefore, one can imagine what the several True Monarchs and the group of Danyuan Realm powerhouses were thinking at this moment.

And the things that happened between him and Lan You were even more impossible to explain clearly. So, he simply played dead and ignored it. What put his mind at ease was that Lan You also showed no reaction at all; even when he explained falling into the Void and meeting the Immortal without consulting her beforehand, Lan You went along with his words completely without any objection.

Of course, this might be the tacit understanding and deep friendship formed by the two of them spending time together day and night.

But the change in Lan You, who seemed like a different person before and after, still made Xu Chen feel very surprised and difficult to understand.

However, this was no longer important. Today, being able to return alive, returning to the sect where he had practiced for five years, seeing his elders and peers again, and returning to the familiar small cabin where he had lived for three whole years, he felt that all the pain and encounters of this trip had instantly turned into smoke and drifted away.

(End of chapter)