Chapter 25: Home

Su Chen hung up the phone, let out a breath, and hurried straight down the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, Pang Jinlong held up his phone, weaving through the crowded crowd, constantly introducing something to the live-stream viewers.

Looking closely, many people similar to him were in the crowd, earnestly holding their phones to do live streams.

But the seemingly chubby little fat man, amidst the crowd, moved as leisurely as a stroll in a garden, and he had already been live-streaming for nearly six hours, only slightly out of breath, with a bit of extra sweat.

Pang Jinlong gazed at the entrance of Luoxian Shan, a hint of longing in his expression.

Just over a day ago on Luoxian Shan, a strong wind blew him, his head hit a stone and he fainted.

Soon, he was awakened by a group of the film crew, discovering his body covered in black grime, not knowing what had happened, and was promptly forced down the mountain by that crew.

While descending the mountain, Pang Jinlong immediately sensed something off—he discovered his body had suddenly become much stronger.

The downhill route normally took three and a half hours, but he completed it in under three hours and didn't feel tired at all.

After coming down the mountain, Pang Jinlong immediately sensed something amiss; he guessed that it must be because, standing beside that mysterious person in black clothing and a white cat mask, he had gained some ineffable fortune, which made his body much stronger.

In his view, calling that mysterious person an immortal would not be an exaggeration; otherwise, how could he have predicted the appearance of that black hole?

Suddenly, Pang Jinlong felt the entrance grow noisy.

"Someone came out, I saw him." That person rubbed his eyes, looking as if he had seen a ghost, and shouted loudly.

"Didn't you say there was no one inside?"

Immediately, someone began to speak up in dissatisfaction.

"Exactly, why is someone still coming out from inside?" Someone took the opportunity to echo.

"Let us in, we want to go in too!"

……

Just moments ago, dozens of people at the front saw a black shadow flash from the entrance and, at great speed, dart into the crowd and vanish.

This instantly aroused their discontent, and they began to loudly question the police at the entrance.

The dozens of police at the entrance were also stunned; they had previously meticulously cleared everyone from the mountain, even taking away the little Daoist from the temple, so how could anyone still come out from inside?

"Captain, this mountain is a bit sinister! I also saw that black shadow."

A young man about twenty-three years old looked at their captain and spoke softly, somewhat nervously.

That captain was a middle-aged man with a square face, somewhat doubtful, because most of the police were maintaining order with their backs to the entrance, naturally they hadn't seen it.

Because, he himself had also seen that black shadow.

He forcibly suppressed his doubts, slapped the young officer's head with a big hand, and joked-scolded: "You brat, did you play games last night and turn stupid? Hurry up and keep order."

The young officer, feeling wronged, rubbed his head, dared not say more, and headed toward the somewhat noisy crowd.

The square-faced middle-aged man then showed concern, walked to a secluded spot by the entrance, and placed a call.

"Hello, Chief…… just now…… we can't keep it hidden any longer!"

On the other end of the line, after listening silently, an old voice came: "Then let's not hide it! It's also time to let those old fellows contribute some national strength……"

Pang Jinlong struggled through the crowded throng to the front nearest the entrance and asked, "What exactly happened? What black shadow?"

However, he was destined to be disappointed; despite shouting with all his strength, hoping someone could answer his question.

But all that happened was someone glanced at him and then ignored him; nobody had any intention of answering his question.

Pang Jinlong immediately grew anxious,

He directly grabbed the collar of a thin, weak person and actually lifted that person up.

Pang Jinlong also noticed his own abnormality, his eyes grew more excited, and he immediately put on a fierce, menacing look and demanded: "Speak, what black shadow?"

That person had been a bit impatient, but the next moment feeling his feet leave the ground, he immediately put on an apologetic smile and said: "Just now a black shadow darted out from inside; it looks like a person."

Pang Jinlong's hand gradually loosened, his eyes grew brighter, and he murmured: "Black shadow, black—it must be him."

However, as soon as he said that, he immediately beat his feet and chest: "Why didn't I see it? I didn't even capture it!"

At the same time, his interest grew stronger, and a urge rose in him to uncover the identity of that black-clothed person.

……

Su Chen's face was somewhat pale at this moment; he had just used the Blood Shadow Step, consuming a considerable amount of blood.

However, fortunately, this had little effect on him.

After emerging from the crowd, he immediately found a deserted spot, changed his clothes, took out his backpack from the System Space, slung it on, and walked forward.

He planned to go to the nearest place, take a vehicle to the station, then ride the train home.

Su Chen walked along the road; many people were trudging along the cracked earth toward Luoxian Shan and Nameless Peak, brushing past him.

Because Nameless Peak had been split open, many surrounding roads showed various degrees of cracking.

Su Chen paid no heed to these; after successfully hailing a taxi, he quickly arrived at the station and, using his pre‑bought ticket, embarked on his journey home.

On the train. Su Chen remained seated by the window, put on his earphones, and began checking the news of recent days.

"Luoxian Shan black hole#black hole beginning to shrink#black hole beginning to stabilize#Step Sword Immortal#Nameless Peak Immortal#"

These news items were hardly different from what Su Chen had been viewing, and the one ranked higher was: "Mysterious black‑clothed white‑cat person predicts the black hole's appearance!!"

The video therein was exactly the full process of Su Chen awaiting the revival of Spiritual Qi; these clips were taken from Pang Jinlong's live‑stream footage and edited into various versions.

Also, a hot‑topic news item demanded the government explain the black‑hole issue, while others mocked whether 《Nine Heavens Above》 would still be filmed or not.

Su Chen glanced at them, saw nothing of value, closed his phone, and prepared to rest awhile.

Su Chen's closed eyes twitched a few times; his spiritual sense detected someone approaching him.

Su Chen pretended to be completely unaware, keeping his eyes shut.

"Hey hey, kid, wake up and swap seats with me."

A yellow‑haired thug slapped the resting Su Chen, his expression arrogant and domineering as he spoke.

Su Chen opened his eyes, looked at the pleading gaze of the woman beside him, and instantly understood.

He coldly glanced at the yellow‑haired guy and spat out a single word: "Scram!"

That Huang Mao, after seeing Su Chen in a high‑school‑student outfit, acted overbearing, trying to scare Su Chen directly, making Su Chen give up his seat.

But he didn't expect Su Chen would actually tell him to get lost; he looked at the crowd around, drawn by their gazes, his expression softened considerably: "She is my friend; I want to sit with him."

The woman, upon hearing this, immediately looked much flustered; her left hand inadvertently tugged Su Chen's collar, looking as if on the verge of tears.

Su Chen didn't even look at Huang Mao, and said coldly: "I also want to sit with her."