"What's going on?" Zhang Rumeng asked in confusion as Chen Fan suddenly walked out the door.
"Didn't he say he'd be right back?" Chen Jingjing was just as bewildered.
Mo Hu clenched his fist and turned to look at the unconscious Mo Bai.
Chen Fan hurried along at a breakneck pace and soon reached home. Holding the Heavenly Court Token, he entered the same state of cultivation as before.
He absorbed and sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Before long, a vast surge of spiritual energy from another world joined it, pouring into every pore of his body. Chen Fan knew this was the Pseudo Immortal Qi from the Heavenly Court.
He tried to follow the Pseudo Immortal Qi's path in reverse with his Divine Sense. He wanted to find the passage through which it was being transmitted, but found himself facing immense resistance. The farther his Divine Sense advanced along the Pseudo Immortal Qi, the stronger the resistance grew. But he didn't give up and continued probing ahead.
"I think I can see where it's coming from." Chen Fan made out the source of the Pseudo Immortal Qi: a blurry space. What he didn't know was that a hairline crack had already appeared in the Heavenly Court Token in his hand.
His Divine Sense continued forward, struggling to advance.
Ten minutes passed!
His Divine Sense took a tiny step forward!
Thirty minutes passed!
His Divine Sense took another tiny step forward!
An hour passed!
He took another tiny step forward!
Three hours later, the disciples outside the wooden hut gradually dispersed, while Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng remained inside, waiting for Chen Fan to return.
Mo Hu clenched his fist tighter and tighter. He didn't think Chen Fan was coming back, and all he could do was sit here, waiting.
After a while, Mo Hu finally stood up from his chair and strode out the door.
"Mo Hu, what are you doing?" Zhang Rumeng cried out, startled by his sudden movement.
"Going up the mountain. To take revenge." Mo Hu's voice was cold.
"Don't!" Chen Jingjing's expression changed at once. She knew that if Chen Fan had told them to wait, he must have a plan. If Mo Hu went to Heavy Sword Peak to pick a fight with that young man now, he would be courting death.
But Mo Hu didn't stop. He walked straight out of the wooden hut, looked at the few disciples still there, and shouted:
"Brothers, we all know how Senior Brother has treated us. He's my older brother, but I know he's your older brother too. Now he's unconscious, and the culprit is living it up on Heavy Sword Peak, while we can only sit here and wait. I can't accept this. Even if I'm not strong enough, I'm still going up the mountain to take revenge. Who'll come with me?"
"Mo Hu, don't be impulsive. Chen Fan is already thinking of a way. If you do this now, you'll only make things worse," Zhang Rumeng said coldly.
"Is anyone coming with me?" Mo Hu ignored Zhang Rumeng and asked the few disciples again.
"Fine, I'll go crazy with you. I've had enough of those people from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Let's go." One disciple stood up in agreement.
"Damn it, I'm going too. If it comes down to it, I'll die. Without Senior Brother, I might as well be dead already." Another disciple gritted his teeth and stood up.
"There's no point in doing this," Chen Jingjing said as she came out of the wooden hut.
"Let's go." Mo Hu said, then turned and headed toward Heavy Sword Peak with the two disciples.
"You..." Seeing that she couldn't stop them, Zhang Rumeng stamped her foot in frustration.
"Acting on impulse is like inviting the devil in. Forget it, it's their choice. Chen Fan looked just like this when he first entered Demon King Valley," Chen Jingjing said, shaking her head.
"But where did Chen Fan go? Why hasn't he come back after all this time?"
"Let's wait a little longer."
Chen Fan was still in his cultivation state, but his Divine Sense was utterly exhausted. Now, each tiny step forward took more time and met with greater resistance.
At last, he advanced another tiny step. It took nearly all his strength, but the blurry space came into focus. Countless cultivators walked across a floor as white and smooth as jade, while a colossal building loomed above them...
"The Heavenly Court." Chen Fan's heart jolted. These Pseudo Immortal Qi currents really had come from another world.
By then, the Heavenly Court Token in his hand was covered in cracks. With a muffled thump, the entire token shattered into fragments.
Chen Fan was about to wake up, but a powerful force of attraction surged from the opening in the Heavenly Court, pulling his Divine Sense into it.
"Not good!" Chen Fan thought, alarmed. The next instant, everything went black.
"Kid, why are you back again?" The Green-feathered Bird's familiar voice rang in his ears.
Chen Fan's eyes snapped open, and the familiar medicinal fields came into view once more.
"I've actually returned to this body again." Chen Fan ignored the Green-feathered Bird and murmured to himself. Then, as usual, he shifted his thoughts and exited the Heavenly Court.
Everything went black again. Chen Fan's physical body, in the room, finally opened its eyes, and a wave of exhaustion swept over his Divine Soul.
He looked down at the broken fragments of the Heavenly Court Token in his hand and shook his head. In the end, he had still failed.
"Without Mid-grade Talisman Paper, there's no way to make the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown Talisman."
Chen Fan sighed. Just then, the scene inside the Heavenly Court's Immortal Cave suddenly appeared in his Divine Sense. He saw another version of himself sitting in meditation.
"Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown Talisman." With a thought from Chen Fan, the three Talismans he had drawn himself rose from the Heavenly Court avatar's body.
The Green-feathered Bird, who had been dozing off, was startled and leaped aside, squawking, "What manner of fiend is this?"
Chen Fan ignored it and summoned the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown Talismans with a thought. The three Talismans flew into the air together. Space rippled faintly, and the Talismans vanished completely from the Heavenly Court.
Then he opened his eyes. The three Talismans lay in his hands.
"Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown Talisman." Chen Fan grasped the Talismans, a faint smile curling his lips.
He could hardly conceal his delight. From now on, rare resources might no longer be a problem.
Meanwhile, the Green-feathered Bird in the Heavenly Court's Immortal Cave was still flapping around in shock. It rubbed its huge eyes with its wing and muttered in bewilderment, "Could these old eyes be playing tricks on me?"
Chen Fan didn't linger. He hurried back to the small wooden hut. Mo Bai's injuries were mainly physical, and his True Qi was also in disarray, blocking his head and leaving him unconscious. He only needed to use the Human Flower Talisman and the Heaven Flower Talisman on him. As for the Earth Flower Talisman, it was used to replenish the Divine Soul. Mo Bai's Divine Soul was still completely intact, so there was no need to waste it.
When Chen Fan returned to the small wooden hut, he found 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 pick a fight with that young man from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect," Zhang Rumeng said as she stood up when she saw Chen Fan.
"Mm." Chen Fan gave a slight nod. Then he pinched a Heaven Flower Talisman between his fingers, ignited it with True Qi, and sent it toward the space above Mo Bai's forehead.
The Talisman burned quickly, turning into a ball of red light that hovered above Mo Bai's forehead.
"This is..." The Old Apothecary's cloudy eyes suddenly brightened. Pointing at the ball of red light, he said, "Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown?"
"Mm." Chen Fan nodded.
He needed to use the Heaven Flower Talisman first to stabilize the disordered True Qi in Mo Bai's body, then use the Human Flower Talisman to replenish his blood and completely heal his injuries.
Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng had never heard of this kind of Talisman. They could only sit to one side, eyes wide as they watched.
"I haven't seen a Talisman like this in years. Such astonishing healing power." The Old Apothecary walked to the bed and watched as the red glow slowly settled on Mo Bai's forehead, his expression visibly moved.
A few breaths later, Mo Bai suddenly opened his eyes, and the ball of red light disappeared.
"He's awake." The Old Apothecary smiled faintly, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned to enter the medicine room. He knew there was nothing more for him to do here.
"Senior Brother." Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng hurried over, looking at Mo Bai with concern.
"Jingjing? Rumeng?" Mo Bai stared blankly at the two of them. Then he blinked, his expression shifting slightly as he seemed to recall what had caused his severe injuries.
Chen Fan was just about to use the Human Flower Talisman to fully restore Mo Bai's body when he suddenly sensed something.
He furrowed his brow and silently drew the Human Flower Talisman back into his sleeve. Then he turned his cold gaze toward the outside of the wooden hut.
"So the top disciple of Heavy Sword Peak is a good-for-nothing like you?" A voice dripping with mockery came from outside, and Mo Bai's face paled as he lay on the bed.
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