Chapter 172

Wind moves in the middle firmament, clouds open in the empty valley—

The ice wheel is about to shake the star pendant, the jade palace slowly opens to scatter the scent of osmanthus.

Above the star clouds of the ten-thousand-mile firmament.

Suddenly, the void bulged and sank, revealing a completely unfamiliar scene, as if a beautiful painting had been forcibly embedded into it.

One could see osmanthus flowers floating on jade, green clouds cutting leaves, dragons coiling, and frost coating the ground—

In the Crystal Palace, a purple-clothed youth lying high on a jade bed suddenly threw the book in his hand, looking over with a smile.

The female attendants on both sides were all graceful and peerless in beauty, with golden hairpins and green cloud hair, wearing light clothes and thin makeup, bathed in orchid dew, containing the scent of fragrance, looking like celestial goddesses from the heavenly palace from afar.

"Yuanshu Zhenjun Song..."

Seeing the purple-clothed youth looking over with a smile.

Whether it was Elder Xun, who was preparing to reach into his sleeve, or the female cultivator and others who had raised their spiritual intent to the peak, all were startled and hurriedly bowed.

"Greetings, Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall."

On the copper sparrow carriage.

The Daoist with the face like painted cinnabar and three long beards under his jaw stood up, performed a salute with the several elders around him, but changed his form of address.

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong."

The Daoist in the black robe did not salute, only nodded slightly to indicate.

However, he was glared at by the purple-clothed youth, his lips moved slightly, and he didn't know what he was quietly scolding...

"Alright, crossing the three disasters is difficult enough; recently, I have been exhausted, washing my face with tears in the mystic realm, my heart restless, and then I happened to run into you all coming to cause trouble, disturbing my leisure!"

The purple-clothed youth sighed and said:

"What? Do you all have some troubles in your hearts too?"

Elder Xun's eyes flashed, he straightened his body, just about to speak.

At the same time, the female cultivator holding the jade flute also tightened her expression slightly.

"No need for you all to argue!"

The purple-clothed youth waved his hand, but his gaze suddenly turned elsewhere.

On Hou Wen's shoulder, the nine-eyed parrot, which was scratching itself triumphantly, suddenly felt cold, then screamed in terror; the secrets hidden in its brain were no longer hidden, and it immediately fell down like a piece of rotten meat.

After a few breaths.

It trembled, shook its wings, and stood up again.

"Fu Ru! Fu Ru..."

The nine-eyed parrot turned its neck in anger, glared at the firmament above.

It wanted to say a few hateful words, but when it met the purple-clothed youth's smiling gaze, its whole body trembled again as if electrocuted.

Afterward.

It didn't say a word, tucked its neck, and flew away sneakily, not daring to look back.

"Uncle Sikong shouldn't have raised this broken thing back then; it forcibly stole a gourd of my Qian-Yuan Creation Pills, and it only achieved this little bit of cultivation? It is truly useless waste!"

The purple-clothed youth looked at Elder Xun: "Xiao Xiao Shixiong transferred it to you."

"Reporting to Yuanshu Zhenjun, that is correct."

"Another day when Uncle Sikong is not around, pluck its feathers and boil it in a pot; it will be considered your filial piety to me. If I am ever struck by the thunder disaster, I will promote you to the position of Left Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall, how about that?"

The purple-clothed youth laughed.

"……"

A look of embarrassment flashed across Elder Xun's face, and he only lowered his head and bowed to apologize.

He knew that this Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall liked to joke, was naturally gentle, and did not care about small details, but involving the elders of the sect, it was not something he could join in with a laugh.

"It's the same temperament as Uncle Sikong; the disciples he teaches are all like mud sculptures and wooden carvings... Forget it."

The purple-clothed youth muttered, then his expression became slightly serious, and he said in a deep voice:

"Having said that, do you all know you were wrong? Especially you few, usually when you go out, fighting with the demonic sect offspring of Chen Yushu is one thing. This time in the Xiaoming Xiao Daze, within the mountain gate, how dare you act recklessly!

In your eyes, does the sect's law not exist!"

The purple-clothed youth's voice suddenly became severe, resounding through the sky, causing the clouds to suddenly split, and the lingering sound lasted for a long time!

Elder Wang and the beautiful female cultivator and the others had stiff expressions and bowed one after another to take the initiative to plead guilty.

"However, how did Chen Heng end up in my Yuchen Sect by mistake..."

At this time.

The purple-clothed youth muttered to himself again.

His face tightened, as if he were suppressing some emotion in his heart.

But after a few breaths, he finally broke his composure and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh:

"Forget it, forget it, it is truly interesting! Today's matter is over. It's fortunate you met me; if it were any other Hall Master, they wouldn't have handled it so lightly.

Elder Xun, are there any other external matters?"

"I don't know what instructions the Yuanshu Zhenjun has?" Elder Xun's eyelids jumped, and he hurriedly said.

"Please enter the mystic realm for a chat." The purple-clothed youth smiled slightly.

He gently rubbed his hand in the air, and a spiritual light descended, landing not far in front of Elder Xun.

And Elder Xun only hesitated for a moment, then straightened his clothes and robes, raised his head, and stepped into the spiritual light.

In an instant.

His body was wrapped in spiritual light, flew up, and was received into the mystic realm.

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong Su... what does the Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall mean by this?"

After the brilliance faded.

The mystic realm also hid itself and disappeared.

Above the extreme sky, only a few frosty clouds could be seen, moving with the wind, swaying.

Inside the copper sparrow carriage.

The Daoist with the face like painted cinnabar frowned for a long time before asking.

"He has always acted like a wild horse, so it is hard for me to guess."

The Daoist in the black robe shook his head, then bowed his hands, stepped on the cinnabar clouds, and rode the clouds away.

And after he left, the various elders also said their goodbyes.

"If it weren't for Chen Bai, that Chen Heng could have entered a Daoist lineage to cultivate, but now, even I can't see through it..."

After all the sages had dispersed.

Only the Daoist remained in place, pondering for a long time.

Finally, he shook his head, clapped his hands, drove the copper sparrow carriage into the depths of the clouds, and sped away.

Golden phoenixes are fine, the setting sun shines on the water—

And after not traveling long.

In an islet below his feet, a white light suddenly shot into the sky, stopped not far away, and intercepted the copper sparrow carriage in the air.

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong Luan Shuo, long time no see, when did you return to the mountain gate from the North Lu Prefecture?"

In the white light, a voice said with a smile.

"I was going to find some Mysterious Water Yunhua Yunhua Long Gao to help my few stupid disciples cultivate a reincarnation technique, so that when they walk out of the mountain gate in the future, they would have some reliance. But who would have thought that the Mysterious Water Yunhua Yunhua Long Gao had long been collected by the people of the North Pole Garden, not leaving even half a drop for me!"

The Daoist Luan Shuo, with a face like painted cinnabar, saw the visitor, his eyes lit up slightly, his expression joyful, but he still pretended not to care, sighed, and said:

"In the end, I had to take out a few rare treasures from beyond the heavens to exchange, and I barely got half a palm's worth. This trip to the North Lu Prefecture was truly a huge loss."

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong is also caring for his disciples."

"I just hope they can be a little more promising, not die in vain, and not tarnish my reputation; that would be Heaven's blessing."

Luan Shuo shook his head and looked forward:

"It is you, Chen Chen Shidi, why do you have time to break through your retreat? Could it be that you have already refined that thunder plaque?"

In the white light in front of the copper sparrow carriage was an old man with a childlike face and crane hair, wearing an eight-trigram apricot-yellow immortal robe.

He smiled upon hearing this and bowed to Luan Shuo:

"The thunder plaque is still missing a few main materials and cannot be completed. I heard that Xiao Xiao Shixiong Su of the Spirit Treasure Hall has a scroll of the 'Nine Firmaments Thunder Map,' and I was just about to borrow it to read and perfect the thunder plaque, but unfortunately—"

"Unfortunately, you have no friendship with Xiao Xiao Shixiong Su, so you specially intercepted me to let me be the middleman?"

Before the old man could finish speaking.

Luan Shuo already understood, shook his head, and laughed loudly:

"Junior brother, oh junior brother, since you are asking for help, how can you just say a few words? How can there be no benefits?"

"I have newly obtained a jar of immortal wine and was just about to invite Xiao Xiao Shixiong to drink it."

The old man said.

Luan Shuo laughed loudly.

He waved his sleeve, put away the copper sparrow carriage, landed on the clouds, and was led by the old man into the cave to be entertained.

In addition to the nine mountains and nine islands, the Xiaoming Xiao Daze also has many sages and elders who like cleanliness and seclusion, so they have opened up many water mansions and islands, and suspended land continents, treating them as their own Daoist fields.

And this old man, named Mi Jingshi, is an elder of the Xuanjiao Hall; although his cultivation is weaker, he is proficient in small arts such as driving insects and controlling beasts.

Luan Shuo had received his help several times in his early years, so a friendship had been established between the two.

After three rounds of wine.

Luan Shuo was already slightly drunk and stopped pushing the cups.

The two talked about some old sect matters and sighed with emotion.

And unconsciously.

Luan Shuo also led the conversation to today's events.

After he finished speaking about the inexplicable handling by the Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall.

Mi Jingshi, who was in the main seat, was rarely stunned, frowned slowly, and a rather complicated expression appeared on his face.

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong Wang? I know his temperament... Ever since Chen Yushu exterminated his clan, Xiao Xiao Shixiong Wang has been like a mad demon, borrowing the 'Ten Heaven Luo Insects' from me several times to encircle and suppress Chen Yushu's offspring who are cultivating in the demonic sect."

"If he were killing those offspring of Chen Yushu in the demonic sect, I wouldn't hinder him; those who act as accomplices deserve to die."

Luan Shuo shook his head and said:

"But this Chen Heng's aura is grand and pure; he clearly hasn't learned any demonic sect arts, and he is a disciple of our sect's Daoist lineage in the Southern Region. If he were to be implicated, it would truly be unreasonable."

Mi Jingshi remained silent for a moment after hearing this, then suddenly laughed:

"It was I who blocked you today, but I didn't expect you, Xiao Xiao Shixiong, to have caught me."

"Chen Chen Shidi Mi, how do you explain this?" Luan Shuo also smiled.

"You clearly know the relationship between my daughter and Chen Wei; if I don't help, it will be hard to avoid being blamed by my daughter, and this Chen Heng's situation is truly very similar to Chen Wei's back then..."

Mi Jingshi gave a bitter laugh and said slowly:

"Xiao Xiao Shixiong, you just open your mouth and speak, but you make me run until my legs break; it is truly hateful!"

Seeing that his thoughts had been exposed, Luan Shuo was not embarrassed, only stroked his long beard and said triumphantly:

"Chen Chen Shidi Mi, you only have one daughter, so naturally you want to hold her like a treasure, but your only daughter has a secret affair with Chen Wei; if you don't do it, do you want me to do it?

And even if you didn't come to find me, I was already thinking of finding you! Thinking about it this way, isn't it just a coincidence?"

"This matter... this matter..."

Mi Jingshi coughed a few times, feeling quite indecisive for a moment, unable to make a conclusion.

The reason he had abandoned his old face and sought help everywhere back then was entirely because his only daughter had a secret affair with Chen Wei and was already pregnant.

No matter how unwilling Mi Jingshi was, he had to do so...

And saving a Chen Wei back then had already made him use countless favors and offended many fellow disciples, resulting in a huge loss.

Even in the end.

If it weren't for that Daoist child finally returning from the Jiuzhen Sect and issuing a decree to protect Chen Wei, setting the matter in stone.

Mi Jingshi's efforts would have all gone down the drain.

But now.

Mi Jingshi no longer had a second daughter...

If he were to save another Chen Heng like he saved Chen Wei back then.

The cost involved.

Was truly enough to make him think for another six or seven days.

Seeing Mi Jingshi frowning and silent, Luan Shuo coughed and said:

"Chen Chen Shidi Mi, do you know where your daughter and Chen Wei are now?"

"They are in the Yulu Immortal Mansion; Xiao Xiao Shixiong should know this, why—"

Before Mi Jingshi finished speaking, his face changed violently, as if he had thought of something, and he hurriedly rose from his seat and bowed to Luan Shuo to thank him.

"If it weren't for Xiao Xiao Shixiong's words, I would have almost made a big mistake!"

He said with shame.

Although Chen Wei also had a good appearance, he had no talent in immortal cultivation.

Even with the "Tai Shi Yuan Zhen" changing his bone structure and aptitude, Chen Wei was not considered a genius in the Lower Court, and he repeatedly failed to compete for the top ten disciple seats, unable to enter the upper sect to cultivate.

Finally, in desperation, Chen Wei had to cross the sea of stars to go to the Yulu Immortal Mansion to seek that one line of possible opportunity to achieve the Dao.

And Mi Jingshi's daughter naturally went with him.

With this reminder from Luan Shuo, Mi Jingshi finally remembered.

The Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji who are now in charge of the Yulu Immortal Mansion are sparing no effort in helping their blood-related brothers!

And if he just sits by and does nothing.

Once this matter spreads to the Yulu Immortal Mansion, although Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji have always been generous and are gentlemen, it is hard to guarantee that they won't hold a grudge.

Chen Wei should be fine.

But his only daughter might not be.

One is not afraid of ten thousand, but of the one in ten thousand.

Mi Jingshi absolutely did not want to gamble with his only daughter, no matter how small the possibility, he did not want to...

"It is good that Chen Chen Shidi Mi can understand the connection; what's more, today is not like the past, and you don't need to run around like you did when saving Chen Wei."

He whispered, signaling Mi Jingshi to lean over, and said:

"I have a plan to teach you, Xiao Xiao Shixiong!"

During Luan Shuo's speech.

Mi Jingshi's face changed repeatedly, and finally, a look of relief appeared, and he nodded in agreement.

"If the Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall releases that Chen Heng, then so be it; you don't need to take action, but if the Hall Master's attitude is ambiguous..."

Luan Shuo laughed loudly, drank the remaining wine in his cup, and did not stay any longer, striding away.

"What if the Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall wants to kill him?"

Mi Jingshi hurriedly asked from behind.

"Not only the Hall Master of the Spirit Treasure Hall, but all the Hall Masters are true immortals who have achieved the Dao; they will never kill him! Your actions, Chen Chen Shidi, will just be pushing the boat with the current; no need to think too much, go! I am going!"

Luan Shuo didn't even look back, answering loudly.

Then this person released the copper sparrow carriage, and in the blink of an eye, he escaped into the depths of the clouds, his whereabouts unknown.

And seeing this, Mi Jingshi shook his head, stood in place for a long time, and finally turned around helplessly.

"Forget it, forget it... just follow his words!"

He thought to himself.

……

And at this moment in the clouds.

Luan Shuo, who was sitting in the copper sparrow carriage, suddenly looked sideways, and a crisp voice rang out from his sleeve, saying:

"You tried every possible way to save that Chen Heng's life; why is that?"

"Oh? Your master is kind-hearted; isn't that enough?"

Luan Shuo laughed upon hearing this.