What Is Desired, Meeting Youquan Again

Whoosh! Whoosh! Two flashes of light vanished in an instant, revealing two figures atop the array. A man and a woman—none other than Luo Chen and Qingshuang. Luo Chen instinctively looked down. The light of the teleportation array was gradually fading, and those familiar patterns were receding into obscurity. The style of this teleportation array seemed to stem from the same lineage as the massive array beneath Duzhen Hall. In other words, he had arrived at Mount Cangwu! Faint footsteps sounded as Qingshuang stepped down from the dais. Looking back at him, Qingshuang once again acknowledged Luo Chen's body refinement realm. When Luo Chen had fled years ago, he had relied on her Cyan Luan plume to withstand the spatial pressure of ultra-long-distance teleportation. This time, however, even without her protection and without a teleportation token, Luo Chen showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever. He had not even mobilized a shred of magic power, withstanding it entirely with his physical body. Such a display—apart from herself and her elder sister, there was no third person on Mount Cangwu capable of it. Youquan had indeed shown some foresight in valuing him back then. "Let's go. Head over to Duzhen Hall first." Luo Chen gave up studying the teleportation array and followed her outward. "Doesn't the Monarch want to see me?" The woman's calm reply echoed against the thick walls of the ascending passage. "She wants to see you, but when depends on her mood." "Hmm? What does that mean? Forcing me to come, yet refusing to see me?" "You call it force, but it was merely in passing. My trip to the Medicine King Domain was for the Accumulating Void Flower. Unfortunately, the flower was not yet mature, but since I ran into you, I invited you along." "What a polite word, 'invited'..." The man's tone bore a chuckle, tinged with a measure of self-mockery. The woman gave no reaction, seemingly indifferent to any sarcasm beneath that self-mockery. For her, bringing someone back to Mount Cangwu usually meant scooping them up in a single sweep of her sleeve. Today, Luo Chen had traveled alongside her, fully conscious; by her standards, it truly counted as an "invitation." "I fail to understand. Had we not met by chance, how did the Monarch intend to see me? Perhaps you are unaware, but according to my plans, I was due to go to the Mingyuan Sect to cultivate before long." "Mingyuan?" Qingshuang murmured the name, her voice pausing for the first time. Yet after only a moment, she said as if it were a matter of course, "In this realm, if my sister wishes to see you, let alone Mingyuan, not even Tianyuan could stop her." Luo Chen was struck dumb. He could naturally hear the immense, bone-deep confidence Qingshuang had in Monarch Qixia. Yet according to rumors, Qixia's rise spanned a mere thousand years, relatively brief even among the top demon powerhouses of the Eastern Desolation. At such an age, how great could her abilities be? How could she possibly treat a sacred ground guarded by three Soul Formation mighty figures as an empty field? Yet if, based on the information Luo Chen had gathered from the Land of the Fallen Demon, this Qixia was that Qixia, then everything seemed to make sense. Wait! The Land of the Fallen Demon! Luo Chen's heart jolted; he faintly guessed what Monarch Qixia wanted from him. "Go wait at Duzhen Hall for a few days. My Zhoukong Hall does not host guests. You should be familiar with that place." "Familiar indeed. Heh." Ever since emerging from the underground teleportation array, Luo Chen had stepped into the main structure of Zhoukong Hall. The vast palace was cold and desolate, so lonely that even the sound of their footsteps rang clear and sharp. Upon reaching the main gate, Qingshuang flicked her sleeve. Creak! The bronze gates swung slowly open. Outside the hall, someone was already waiting. "Hall Master!" A plump, alluring woman curtsied gracefully. "Mm." Qingshuang acknowledged her. Once Luo Chen stepped outside, she waved her sleeve, and the gates of Zhoukong Hall slammed shut with a boom. Her manner was very much like showing an unwelcome guest the door. "Don't mind her; she is always like this." Luo Chen turned around, looking at the familiar woman, and nodded. Heqingzi looked Luo Chen up and down intently. A face fair as crowned jade, an aura calm and steady; even in the midst of danger, he showed no trace of panic. Though his face was somewhat pale from excessive magic power depletion, that commanding, unshakeable poise of a grandmaster was inadvertently displayed. Heqingzi's eyes lit up. "Luo Chen, after over a hundred years apart, who would have thought you would become so formidable!" Luo Chen twitched the corner of his mouth. "Has Fellow Daoist not also made great progress, breaking through the early Nascent Soul stage?" Heqingzi smoothed a strand of hair and smiled. "Mount Cangwu is the sacred ground of the feathered race, the most suitable place for avians like us to cultivate. Such progress is only natural. But you, on the other hand..." Heqingzi stopped herself in good time. During their idle chat, the two had already arrived at the edge of the white jade plaza in front of Zhoukong Hall. Standing on the cliffside devoid of walkways, the man gazed out at the celestial mountain scenery wrapped in swirling clouds and wheeling birds, an emotional sigh rising in his chest. He was back again. A similar sentiment had welled up when he first returned to the Eastern Desolation. Back then, he had carried the high spirits of advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, the prestige of defeating the Dao Sect's prodigies, and the confidence to turn the tide for the imperiled Luotian, returning like a hero dressed in brocade. This time, however, reality was cold and harsh. Qingshuang had framed it as an invitation, speaking with polite restraint. Yet Luo Chen knew that had he not accepted that "invitation," the consequence would have been the collapse of his Nascent Soul and a drastic plunge in his cultivation. Looking at the familiar sights before him, Luo Chen's emotions were tangled beyond measure. "Let's go!" "Alright, head this way. Hall Master Qingshuang has already arranged an immortal cave for you. The spiritual energy there is extremely surging, the best place in Duzhen Hall aside from the Hall Master's own abode. It is on par even with Vice Hall Master Youquan's cave." Heqingzi was remarkably enthusiastic, explaining everything to Luo Chen in great detail. Luo Chen was somewhat surprised. Had Qingshuang quietly arranged such a prime immortal cave for him? Was it because she noticed his magic power was drained and his condition poor? When Luo Chen arrived at the cave at Duzhen Hall, Heqingzi went on to introduce all the arrangements and facilities. Luo Chen grew a bit impatient. "Fellow Daoist Heqingzi, thank you for your trouble." Heqingzi paused, then smiled. "No trouble at all, no trouble at all. It is only my duty. Vice Hall Master Youquan has been in seclusion lately, and that fellow Leiyu only recently reshaped his body, so I am currently managing things here at Duzhen Hall. If you need anything, just send a transmission to me." As she spoke, she beckoned with her hand, and a small bird with pale yellow feathers flew over. The little bird was full of spirit and settled onto Luo Chen's shoulder. Evidently, this was Mount Cangwu's transmission channel. Luo Chen nodded, then closed the cave gates. Outside the cave, mists gradually coalesced. Heqingzi lingered, reluctant to leave. "Who would have thought that little boy from back then would grow to such heights, and his looks have become even more pleasing to the eye." "Truly a fine furnace!" "No, at such a realm and such an age, he would be the optimal choice for a Dao companion—a thousand times better than that dead ghost Yunhe." ... Luo Chen did not know why Heqingzi was so enthusiastic; back when Youquan brought her back from the Hehuan Sect, she had been thoroughly despondent. He had no leisure to dwell on it now. The moment he was alone, he set up an isolation array and took out two items. A flame, and a jade box. The flame was cyan-white, with a faint glint of pale gold within. The restrictions upon the jade box were intricate and dense; even with Luo Chen's current attainments, he had no way to unravel them. So... "Is it this?" "Or this?" Luo Chen's gaze shifted back and forth between the two, uncertainty showing in his eyes. If this Qixia and the Qixia spoken of by the artifact spirit of the Heaven Refining Cauldron in the Land of the Fallen Demon were not just namesakes, but shared deep origins—or were even the very same person—then what she sought had to be one of these two. No! Perhaps there was another object? Suddenly, Luo Chen recalled another thing he had obtained from the Land of the Fallen Demon. He opened his mouth and exhaled; a small gray cauldron drifted slowly out. The cauldron body was cracked, tugging at Luo Chen's mind as though his own consciousness were splitting apart. He still remembered that back then, he had also taken in a streak of gray light. It was that gray light merging into the Hunyuan Cauldron that caused the treasure to undergo a metamorphosis. Not only did it smoothly advance into a True Artifact, but it also drastically enhanced the quality of his alchemy and artifact crafting, and could even absorb heavenly tribulation thunder. Recalling this, Luo Chen inspected it closely. A closer look yielded an unexpected surprise. In the earlier battle, the Hunyuan Cauldron had first taken a direct strike from three Great Demon Sovereigns, and later, when unleashing the elk thunder beast to condense the heavenly tribulation, it was blasted again by Huang Man and Bi Zheng. It had originally suffered severe damage, leaving fractures even across its extraordinarily hard body. Yet to his surprise, in this short span of time, those fractures had shrunk slightly on their own. Such recovery ability was utterly terrifying! Compared to this, the Xuanchen Armor paled like heaven against earth! While most magic treasures had materials with restorative properties deliberately incorporated during forging, such regenerative abilities usually required the cultivator's own nourishment or additional materials to activate and repair. The materials used for the Hunyuan Cauldron were superb, but no matter how fine, they should not have achieved this. Could this also be the effect of that gray light? As Luo Chen pondered, pained groans reached his ears. Frowning, Luo Chen stowed the three items and shook his left arm; Black King tumbled out. Rolling across the floor a few times, Black King struggled to lift his head. "Are you alright?" Luo Chen asked with concern, retrieving some healing medicinal pills. Black King swallowed them eagerly. Though the medicinal power had yet to take effect, a relieved expression already spread across his face. "Fine, fine, just minor scratches!" Luo Chen shook his head with a smile. "You had a hard time this time." Hard indeed. During the great battle, Black King had been his only reliable ally aside from Sovereign Jiuling. To that end, he had suffered heavy blows repeatedly—not only taking several swings from Huang Man's club, but also being torn in two by Qingshuang's bare hands. Had it not been for his innate "Indestructible Body" talent gained upon advancing into a desolate beast, an ordinary demon beast would have died a thousand times over. "To risk life and limb for Master is Xiao Hei's blessing!" Black King spoke with righteous devotion, as if he were willing to pave a path across mountains of daggers and seas of fire with his own body for Luo Chen to walk over. Only... Black King pulled his neck back, glancing outside with a look of dread. "Master, where are we right now?" "Mount Cangwu. Didn't you hear earlier?" "I heard, but I didn't expect it to be a place like this!" "What's wrong?" Luo Chen asked, puzzled. Black King said in a fearful tone, "This place makes Xiao Hei very uncomfortable." Uncomfortable? Luo Chen started, then quickly realized. Black King's original form was a black-scaled python; his natural predators were powerful birds of prey. Take Tianxuan, for instance—in earlier years, she and Black King had never gotten along. And where was this? Mount Cangwu, the sacred ground of the feathered race! How could there be only one or two powerful avians here? Even if they did not deliberately release their auras, accumulated over countless years, what "crawler" would not tremble in fear? 'No wonder White Bone Mysterious Snake was cowering before Qingshuang, piloting a boat and guarding gates, acting humble beyond any semblance of a Demon Sovereign.' Luo Chen shook his head and instructed, "From now on, stay inside the immortal cave and don't wander off. If some bird swoops down and snatches you away, even I won't have anywhere to seek justice for you." Black King agreed repeatedly. Writhing his body as he circled the spacious immortal cave, he soon let out an exclamation of surprise. "Master, such dense spiritual energy!" Luo Chen had anticipated this reaction. Heqingzi had not exaggerated. The spiritual energy in this cave truly could be called surging—so rich it was almost frightening! In his lifetime, Luo Chen had seen countless spiritual lands, yet scarcely any could rival this place. Even among fourth-rank spiritual lands, this place was undeniably the finest of the finest! Black King even uttered remarks like, "If I sleep here for a hundred years, I will definitely help it ascend into a fifth-rank spirit vein!" In truth, there was no need for his help. Because Mount Cangwu itself already possessed a fifth-rank spirit vein! Luo Chen walked over to the cultivation chamber and took deep breaths; every intake felt as if it drew in massive amounts of pure spiritual energy. And that was without even actively running his cultivation method. 'According to Heqingzi, this cave is on par with Vice Hall Master Youquan's own abode within Duzhen Hall. It is hard to imagine what grandeur the true Hall Master of Duzhen Hall's cave must possess.' 'Fifth-rank?' Luo Chen chuckled self-deprecatingly. At a time like this, he still had the mind to ponder such idle thoughts. Was it because Mount Cangwu treated him too well, or had Qingshuang's promise that she "would not harm him" emboldened him, or was it that someone with nothing to lose feared nothing? "I'm hardly someone with nothing to lose now," Luo Chen muttered, stepping into the cultivation chamber. The pressing task at hand was still to nurse his injuries and restore his condition. Lighting an incense burner and swallowing several medicinal pills, he circulated his cultivation method, drawing in vast torrents of worldly spiritual energy that poured into him. ... "Get out here!" "Back then you had the nerve to ambush me with others, but now you don't have the guts to show your face?" "Luo Chen, get the hell out here!" The booming voice roared like continuous claps of thunder. Heqingzi rushed over with a displeased look, shouting in a low voice at the burly man: "Leiyu, what are you yelling for? If you disturb Luo Chen's rest, how will you explain it to the Hall Master?" The Thunder Prison Divine Peng whipped around, glaring fiercely at Heqingzi. "Protecting that fellow like this—have you taken a fancy to him too?" Having her inner thoughts called out, Heqingzi was both embarrassed and furious. "What nonsense are you spouting?" Leiyu sneered in disdain. "Don't bring the human Hehuan Sect's tricks into Mount Cangwu. It's only because the Hall Master of Zhoukong Hall is engrossed in bitter cultivation and Vice Hall Master Youquan hasn't shown her face these years. Otherwise, with the way you've behaved, you'd have been plucked clean of your feathers, turned into a bald crane, and hung outside Mount Cangwu for all to see!" "Bastard!" Furious, Heqingzi lashed out with a claw. The Thunder Prison Divine Peng showed no fear, throwing a punch in return. Boom! As magic powers collided, the Thunder Prison Divine Peng stumbled back several steps, his face turning an alternating green and pale. Seeing this, Heqingzi's anger vanished, replaced by a charming laugh. "If your body isn't healed, go catch a few more worms in the mountains to eat instead of embarrassing yourself here. You can't even beat me, yet you dare provoke Luo Chen?" Leiyu was incensed—he had stopped eating worms long ago! Furthermore! "Taking advantage of my freshly reshaped body, are you?" "Once I return to my peak, you're the first one whose feathers I'll pluck! Then I'll butcher Luo Chen, and..." Heqingzi waved her hands dismissively. "Save it. Never mind your current state—what if you did recover to your peak? In case you don't know, your friend Qixi was defeated by Luo Chen, Bi Zheng fled in panic, and even Huang Man and Baizu died at Luo Chen's hands. Talking big now, but once you face him in person, I'm afraid that dark face of yours will flush crimson with shame." Leiyu froze. Over these years, he had been busy reshaping the physical body destroyed by Sovereign Jiuling, leaving him no time to pay attention to external affairs. Heqingzi's words struck him like a sudden thunderclap, catching him completely off guard. "Really?" "Heh, could it be false? Are you looking down on the intelligence gathering of Mount Cangwu's feathered race?" Leiyu instinctively moved closer to Heqingzi—not to be affectionate, but to subconsciously put distance between himself and Luo Chen's cave. He would never doubt the intelligence capabilities of Mount Cangwu's feathered race. Yet could that mere upstart Luo Chen truly have achieved such feats? Right at that moment, the flock of birds watching the show in the sky suddenly scattered. A black shadow swooped down, bypassing the two and landing outside Luo Chen's cave. A graceful figure with alluring curves—judging by the silhouette alone, one could tell she was an exquisite beauty. Yet her true countenance was concealed beneath a veiled bamboo hat. Upon seeing the newcomer, both Leiyu and Heqingzi, who had just been bickering, clamped their mouths shut. "Scram!" The two shuddered, not daring to disobey the woman's words, and beat a hasty retreat. Not only them, but the flock of birds circling above to watch the spectacle was also driven away by this single shout, daring not approach another inch. Once everything had quieted down, the woman glared with venomous hatred at the mist-covered cave. As if sensing her presence, a low voice came from within. "Fellow Daoist Youquan, please enter so we may speak." Gnashing her teeth, Youquan let out a shrill voice: "Fine!"