Marriage Certificate

Flying on a magical artifact!

These four words represented an unreachable realm in the hearts of all the miscellaneous disciples.

It meant that the person who arrived was at least a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm!

In their eyes, such a figure was no different from an immortal in the heavens, someone they would never have the chance to see in their daily lives.

Yet now, this immortal-like inner sect senior brother was rummaging frantically through the garbage heap they despised and feared most, acting like a madman.

This bizarre scene made all the miscellaneous disciples afraid to even breathe loudly.

They hid far away, terrified that this clearly unstable senior brother might accidentally vent his anger on them, the mere ants.

That guy was clearly looking for some treasure he had accidentally lost.

This left many people feeling puzzled; what kind of treasure could make a high-level expert in the Foundation Establishment Realm lose his composure like this?

Could it be some powerful magical treasure, or perhaps a rare medicinal pill?

Zhou Xuan stood in the corner of the crowd, a guess already forming in his mind.

Is this senior brother looking for that Green Copper piece?

The thought flashed by, but Zhou Xuan quickly felt it was unlikely.

Nobody knew what that thing was, not even the system!

Watching that senior brother become increasingly manic, even beginning to use his spiritual power to blast away large swathes of trash in a "find it or die trying" manner, Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and decided to do something.

Risk and opportunity coexist.

If he could build a good relationship with an inner sect disciple in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it would definitely be of immense benefit to his future development.

Furthermore, the other party was clearly in a state of anxious helplessness; offering a little bit of insignificant help at this moment would likely yield the best results.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xuan took a deep breath, straightened his relatively clean miscellaneous disciple uniform, stepped out from the crowd, and walked cautiously toward the inner sect disciple.

His actions immediately drew surprised gazes from the surrounding miscellaneous disciples.

"Is Zhou Xuan crazy? He dares to go up there?"

"Does he not want to live? If he angers that senior brother, he could be blown to death with a single breath!"

Zhou Xuan ignored the discussions behind him. He stopped at a relatively safe distance and bowed respectfully to the disciple who was still frantically rummaging.

"Senior brother, please calm your anger."

His voice was not loud, but it sounded exceptionally clear in the silence.

The inner sect disciple's movements paused. He turned his head abruptly, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Zhou Xuan. The anxiety and pressure in his gaze made Zhou Xuan's heart skip a beat.

Zhou Xuan endured the pressure and continued, "Senior brother, this Miscellaneous Affairs Department is a place of filth for the sect. There are many toxins among the waste, and even some unstable discarded pills and artifacts that could explode if handled carelessly. Searching like this is truly too dangerous."

Perhaps it was because Zhou Xuan's attitude was sufficiently respectful, or perhaps the concern in his words had an effect, but the manic look in the inner sect disciple's eyes faded slightly.

He panted heavily, his handsome face filled with dejection.

He seemed to be a reasonable person.

"I have a very important item that was accidentally mixed into the trash and thrown here."

He said in a hoarse voice, his tone filled with regret.

Zhou Xuan's heart stirred, and he tentatively asked, "May I ask what it is that you lost, senior brother? Could you describe it?"

"We miscellaneous disciples work here year-round and are quite familiar with the environment. Perhaps... perhaps I can help you keep an eye out for it."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in the disciple's eyes, but it quickly dimmed.

He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "It's useless. That thing doesn't have a shred of spiritual energy; it's just a mundane object. Mixed into this mountain of trash, it's no different from looking for a needle in the ocean."

Hearing the words "doesn't have a shred of spiritual energy," Zhou Xuan finally felt at ease.

As long as it wasn't that Green Copper piece!

Since that was the case, he could try to offer this favor.

"Senior brother, please feel free to speak. With one more person knowing, there is one more glimmer of hope, isn't there?" Zhou Xuan continued to persuade.

The disciple was silent for a moment, seemingly moved by Zhou Xuan's sincerity.

He sighed and slowly began to describe it, "It is a marriage contract, made of a very thin copper sheet. Engraved on it are the names of my fiancée and myself, as well as our birth dates."

A copper marriage contract?

Zhou Xuan was stunned; this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

The disciple seemed to have opened the floodgates; his gaze became distant as he fell into long-lost memories.

"My name is Zhao Zhen. Seven years ago, I was just an ordinary person in the mortal world, and my family ran a small blacksmith shop."

"At that time, I was betrothed to a girl from a neighboring village. Both sets of parents were very satisfied, so they used the scraps left over from our family's ironwork to make a copper marriage contract for us, hoping that we would be together for a long, long time."

Speaking of this, a gentle smile appeared on Zhao Zhen's handsome face, but it quickly turned into pain.

"But just a month before we were to be married, my family suffered a catastrophe. A fire destroyed everything, and my parents also..."

He choked up and could not continue.

"I was displaced, begging for food everywhere, living in a daze."

"Later, I don't even know how it happened, but I stumbled into the territory of the Spirit Sword Pavilion."

"Fortunately, the elder in charge of recruitment at the mountain gate checked my talent and found it passable, so he kept me, and I became an outer sect disciple."

"For these seven years, I have cultivated with my life on the line, not daring to slack off in the slightest. I finally achieved success, broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and became an inner sect disciple."

As Zhao Zhen spoke, the pain and regret in his eyes were almost overflowing.

"I had intended to go down the mountain to find her once my cultivation stabilized, but yesterday, while I was tidying up my old belongings, I accidentally threw away the package containing our marriage contract, mistaking it for trash."

"Early this morning, I prepared to head down the mountain, only to discover the marriage contract was missing. That was the only thing on me that could prove my identity, and it was the only token of affection between us."

"If I have even lost that, what face do I have left to see her!"

After hearing Zhao Zhen's words, Zhou Xuan fell silent.

He looked at this inner sect senior brother, who usually seemed unreachable to the servant disciples, now appearing as helpless and self-reproachful as a child who had lost a beloved toy. A complex mix of emotions stirred within him.

He thought of Liu Ruyan.

Both were from humble origins, and both had obtained a chance at immortality.

For the sake of her so-called Great Dao, Liu Ruyan could sever her past without hesitation, viewing her childhood sweetheart as a stain that needed to be wiped away.

Yet, the Zhao Zhen before him cherished and clung so tightly to a piece of marriage paper from seven years ago, for the sake of a mortal woman who might not even be waiting for him anymore.

Zhou Xuan sighed softly in his heart.

In this world of cultivation, there are those as cold-hearted as Liu Ruyan, but there are also men as loyal and righteous as Senior Brother Zhao Zhen.

His own misfortune was, in the end, just a case of meeting the wrong person.

"Senior Brother, there is no need to blame yourself so much."

Zhou Xuan spoke up to comfort him.

"Although this place is chaotic, all waste is dumped in designated zones. Since you remember losing it yesterday, the area shouldn't be too large."

"It's just that this trash is piled layer upon layer, making it truly difficult to find immediately. Furthermore, it is a mundane object without spiritual energy, so it cannot be detected with divine sense."

Listening to Zhou Xuan's logical analysis, Zhao Zhen's emotions gradually calmed down, though the look of despair on his face remained heavy.

Zhou Xuan looked at him and said earnestly, "Senior Brother, you have already waited seven years; a few more days won't matter. Please return first. Staying here won't help, and it's easy to get contaminated by toxic baleful qi, which will affect your cultivation."

"I promise you that starting today, I will have the servant disciples here pay extra attention when processing the waste in this area. If I find that copper marriage contract, I will definitely send it to you immediately."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen suddenly looked up at Zhou Xuan, his eyes filled with gratitude.

A dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator like him had lost his composure earlier, yet he hadn't been as clear-headed as a Body Tempering Realm servant disciple.

"Many thanks, Junior Brother!"

Zhao Zhen bowed solemnly to Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan quickly stepped aside to avoid it. "Senior Brother, you are too kind; it is merely a small effort."

Zhao Zhen took an identity token from his robes and handed it to Zhou Xuan. "My name is Zhao Zhen, and I live in the number nine cave dwelling of the Ding Camp on Red Sword Peak. If you have any news, Junior Brother, you can use this token to find me."

"Red Sword Peak..."

Zhou Xuan took the token and repeated the name silently in his heart.

Regarding the structure of the sect, he only knew the general layout.

Aside from the special peaks dedicated to alchemy, artifact refining, formations, and talismans, as well as the administrative peak where the Deacon Hall was located, the true cultivators of the Spirit Sword Pavilion were mainly gathered on seven main peaks.

These seven main peaks were named after the seven colors of the rainbow, corresponding to the seven common spiritual power attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, thunder, and lightning.

Red is fire, orange is metal, yellow is earth, green is wood, cyan is water, blue is lightning, and purple is thunder.

The Red Sword Peak where Zhao Zhen resided was clearly the gathering place for fire-attribute cultivators.

Above the seven main peaks, there was one more peak, the most core and mysterious one, called Heaven Sword Peak.

That was where the sect master and the various grand elders practiced in seclusion; it was the power center of the entire Spirit Sword Pavilion.

After thanking him repeatedly, Zhao Zhen summoned his flying sword again. Carrying a heart full of worry and a glimmer of hope, he turned into a streak of light and flew toward the inner sect.

Watching his figure disappear into the horizon, the surrounding servant disciples dared to gather around, each looking at Zhou Xuan as if he were a monster.

"Zhou Xuan, you are too bold!"

"That's right, you actually took an inner sect senior brother's token!"

Zhou Xuan ignored their shock and simply tucked the heavy token into his robes.

He looked down at the pile of trash that had been turned upside down by Zhao Zhen, a faint, imperceptible curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

A friend in the inner sect?

Perhaps.

Whether this bond of kindness could be forged would depend on whether he could find that seven-year-old marriage contract in this mountain of trash!