Cross-Realm Retrieval

"What's going on?" Zhang Rumeng watched Chen Fan suddenly walk out the door, puzzled.

"He said he'd be back soon?" Chen Jingjing was also confused.

Mo Hu clenched his fist, then turned to look at the unconscious Mo Bai.

Chen Fan moved swiftly, soon arriving home. Clutching the Heavenly Court Token, he entered his usual cultivation state.

He absorbed and comprehended the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. Soon, a vast surge of otherworldly spiritual energy joined in, rushing into every pore of his body. Chen Fan knew this was the Pseudo Immortal Qi from the Heavenly Court.

He tried to trace the Pseudo Immortal Qi's path with his Divine Soul, seeking the channel through which it was transmitted. But he found it immensely obstructed—every inch his Divine Soul advanced against the flow, the resistance grew heavier. Still, he did not give up and pressed on.

"It seems I can see the source." Chen Fan made out the origin of the Pseudo Immortal Qi: a blurry patch of space. What he did not know was that the Heavenly Court Token in his hand had already developed a crack.

His Divine Soul continued to probe forward, struggling step by step.

Ten minutes passed!

His Divine Soul took one small step forward!

Thirty minutes passed!

His Divine Soul took another small step forward!

An hour passed!

He took yet another small step forward!

Three hours later, the disciples outside the wooden hut gradually dispersed. Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng remained seated inside, waiting for Chen Fan's return.

Mo Hu's fists clenched tighter and tighter. He felt Chen Fan would not come, and all he could do was sit here uselessly.

After a long while, Mo Hu finally rose from his chair and strode out the door.

"Mo Hu, what are you doing?" Zhang Rumeng was startled by his sudden movement and shouted.

"Going up the mountain. Revenge." Mo Hu said coldly.

"Don't." Chen Jingjing's expression changed immediately. She knew that since Chen Fan had told them to wait, he must have a plan. If Mo Hu went to Heavy Sword Peak to cause trouble for that youth now, it would be nothing but suicide.

Mo Hu did not stop. He walked straight outside the hut, looked at the few remaining disciples, and roared:

"Fellow disciples, we all know how the senior brother has treated us. He is my brother, but I know he is your brother too. Now he lies unconscious, the murderer roams free on Heavy Sword Peak, and we can only wait here in agony. I won't accept it. Even if I lack the strength, I will go up the mountain for revenge. Will anyone join me?"

"Mo Hu, don't be rash. Chen Fan is already working on a solution. Doing this now will only cause more trouble." Zhang Rumeng said coldly.

"Anyone with me?" Mo Hu ignored Zhang Rumeng and continued asking the disciples.

"Fine, I'll go mad with you. I've been holding in my anger toward these Ten Thousand Swords Sect people for too long. Let's go." One disciple stood up in agreement.

"Damn it, I'm going too. At worst, I die. Without the senior brother, I'd already be as good as dead anyway." Another disciple gritted his teeth and rose.

"What you're doing is meaningless." Chen Jingjing stepped out of the hut and said.

"Let's go." Mo Hu said, then turned with the two disciples and headed toward Heavy Sword Peak.

"You..." Zhang Rumeng, unable to stop them, stomped her foot in frustration.

"Impulse is the devil. Forget it, this is their choice. Back when Chen Fan first entered Demon King Valley, he was the same way." Chen Jingjing shook her head.

"But where did Chen Fan go? It's been so long and he still hasn't returned."

"Let's wait a little longer."

At that moment, Chen Fan remained in his cultivation state, but his Divine Soul was exhausted. Every small step forward now cost more time and bore greater resistance.

Finally, he took another small step—one that nearly drained all his strength. But the blurry space became clear. On a stretch of pure white jade-like ground, countless cultivators were walking about, and above the space stood a massive building...

"The Heavenly Court." Chen Fan's heart trembled. This Pseudo Immortal Qi was truly crossing realms.

At that moment, the Heavenly Court Token in his hand was covered in cracks. With a dull "bang," the entire token shattered into pieces.

Chen Fan was about to wake, but a powerful suction force came from the Heavenly Court's gap, pulling his Divine Soul entirely into it.

"Damn it!" Chen Fan thought with alarm, and then everything went black before his eyes.

"Kid, why are you back again?" The Green-feathered Bird's familiar voice sounded in his ear.

Chen Fan snapped open his eyes. The familiar Medicine Field came into view once more.

"Back in this body again." Chen Fan ignored the Green-feathered Bird and muttered to himself. Then, as usual, he moved his mind and withdrew from the Heavenly Court.

His vision went dark again. The physical body in the room finally opened its eyes, and a wave of exhaustion instantly swept over his Divine Soul.

He looked down at the shattered fragments of the Heavenly Court Token in his hand and shook his head slightly. In the end, he had failed.

"Without Mid-grade Talisman Paper, I simply cannot craft the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman."

Chen Fan sighed. Just then, an image from the Heavenly Court Immortal Cave appeared in his Divine Soul—he saw another version of himself sitting in meditation.

"Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman." With a thought, the three talismans he had personally drawn floated up from the Heavenly Court spiritual body.

The Green-feathered Bird, who had been dozing off, was startled and hopped aside, squawking loudly: "What fiend dares show itself here?"

Chen Fan paid it no heed, simply moving his mind to draw the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman over. The three talismans flew into the air simultaneously, the void blurring faintly for a moment before the talismans vanished completely into the Heavenly Court.

Then he opened his eyes, and the three talismans lay right in his palm.

"Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman." Holding the talismans, a faint smile curled at the corner of Chen Fan's mouth.

He could barely conceal the delight in his eyes—if this worked, scarce resources in the future might no longer be a problem.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Court's Immortal Cave, the Green-feathered Bird was still flapping about in alarm, rubbing its big eyes with a wing and muttering to itself: "Could This Seat's eyes be playing tricks?"

Chen Fan did not linger. He hurried toward the wooden shack. Mo Bai's injuries were mainly physical damage, compounded by chaotic True Qi blocking his head and leaving him unconscious. Of these three talismans, he only needed to use the Human Flower Talisman and the Heaven Flower Talisman on him. As for the Earth Flower Talisman, it was meant to replenish the Divine Soul—Mo Bai's Divine Soul was still perfectly intact, so there was no need to waste it.

By the time Chen Fan returned to the wooden shack, he noticed that most of the disciples had already left. Only Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng remained inside.

"Chen Fan, you're finally here. Mo Hu and the others went up the mountain to find trouble with that Ten Thousand Swords Sect youth." Zhang Rumeng stood up as she saw Chen Fan.

"Mm." Chen Fan merely nodded slightly, then pinched a Heaven Flower Talisman between his fingers, ignited it with True Qi, and directed it above Mo Bai's forehead.

The talisman burned swiftly, condensing into a spherical red glow that hovered over Mo Bai's brow.

"This is..." The Old Apothecary's murky eyes suddenly brightened as he pointed at the red orb of light. "Three Flowers Gathering at Crown?"

"Mm." Chen Fan nodded.

He needed to first use the Heaven Flower Talisman to stabilize the chaotic True Qi inside Mo Bai's body, then use the Human Flower Talisman to replenish his blood and vitality, clearing away all the injuries.

Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng had never heard of such talismans, so they could only sit to the side, watching wide-eyed.

"It's been years since I last saw a talisman like this—such astonishing recovery power." The Old Apothecary walked to the bedside, watching the red light fall bit by bit onto Mo Bai's forehead, his expression somewhat stirred.

After a few breaths, Mo Bai suddenly opened his eyes, and the red glow vanished.

"He's awake." The Old Apothecary smiled faintly, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned to walk into the medicine room, knowing his part here was done.

"Senior Brother." Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng hurried over, looking at Mo Bai with concern.

"Jingjing? Rumeng?" Mo Bai stared blankly at the two before him, then blinked, his expression shifting slightly as if he recalled the cause of his severe injuries.

Chen Fan was about to use the Human Flower Talisman to fully restore Mo Bai's body when he suddenly sensed something.

He furrowed his brow slightly, silently tucking the Human Flower Talisman back into his sleeve, then turned a cold, sharp gaze toward the door of the shack.

"So the Heavy Sword Peak's senior disciple is this useless piece of trash?" A voice dripping with mockery came from outside the door, causing Mo Bai, lying on the bed, to pale.