The Chen Clan's Legacy

Watching Chen Fan leave, the many disciples outside the wooden house felt a mix of emotions, mostly shock and disbelief.

In just a few dozen days, this clown in everyone's eyes had suddenly gone to Demon King Valley and undergone such a transformation—mastering Formless Step and a profound sword technique, his cultivation leaping from Qi Refining Layer 2 to Qi Refining Layer 6. Now, even before the high-ranking figures of Heavy Sword Peak and other strong experts, he stood his ground without the slightest hint of inferiority or arrogance.

"This is the heart of a strong cultivator. What our generation lacks is exactly this mindset—neither servile nor overbearing. Let him be strong, let him be fierce; the gentle breeze brushes the mountain ridge!" a disciple said, gazing at Chen Fan's retreating back with respect.

"Oh, come off it. You were the one shouting loudest for him to come out earlier," someone retorted with disdain.

"So strong. He even dodged that Young Sect Master's attack just now. Hey, Mo Hu is here." At that moment, a disciple was speaking when he spotted three figures rushing over hastily. One of them was Mo Hu, at Qi Refining Layer 6, but he was panting heavily from the hurried run.

Seeing the crowd discussing something, Mo Hu frowned. After asking around, he learned that his elder brother had been saved by Chen Fan. Even under the interference of the Young Sect Master and an uninformed elder, Chen Fan had handled things with ease, calmly pulling Mo Bai back from the jaws of death, and now his injuries were eighty percent healed.

Mo Hu didn't believe it at first, but when he rushed into the wooden house and saw Mo Bai as if nothing had happened, he was utterly stunned.

"He's actually this strong..." Mo Hu murmured to himself.

Meanwhile, as Chen Fan walked slowly toward his home, his mind still replayed everything in the Heavenly Court. He no longer needed the Heavenly Court Token to enter the Heavenly Court in an instant. More importantly, he could take physical objects out of it. The Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman just now was a living example.

"Brother, where did you get that talisman? And the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman last time—how do you have such precious talismans?" Chen Jingjing caught up to Chen Fan and looked at him, asking.

Chen Fan was momentarily stunned, then came back to his senses. This was the first time Chen Jingjing had called him "brother" instead of using his name directly.

"I drew the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman myself. As for the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman... it was a fortuitous encounter." Chen Fan hesitated before replying. After all, the former was plausible enough, but the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman required Mid-grade Talisman Paper, which rarely appeared in the markets of Heavy Sword City. If one did appear, it would inevitably stir up all factions to bid and fight over it, possibly even sparking an auction.

Chen Jingjing nodded slightly at that. She figured that since Chen Fan had just returned from Demon King Valley, perhaps he had obtained the talisman there.

She had never entered Demon King Valley, but she had heard that this perilous place was littered with treasures, attracting experts from all sides to explore and train. Over the years, countless strong cultivators had fallen there. If a cultivator became a beast's meal, their valuable belongings would scatter across the wilderness. Those lucky enough to find them would gain a great fortune.

She reasonably came up with this possibility, unaware that Chen Fan's "fortuitous encounter" referred to his ability to take objects from the Heavenly Court across realms.

Once they returned home, Chen Fan habitually headed toward his room. He needed to enter the Heavenly Court again to test things out, but Chen Jingjing suddenly called him to a stop.

"Brother, did you notice Elder Li acting a bit strange today?" Chen Jingjing recalled Elder Li's odd behavior and frowned.

"Elder Li? What's wrong?" Chen Fan was puzzled, not understanding.

"When Father passed away, we were both young, so he entrusted our family's inheritance to Elder Li. As far as I remember, Elder Li was always kind and warm to us, but today he seemed rather cold," Chen Jingjing said, growing more suspicious as she spoke.

"Do you think he's unwilling to return the inheritance?" Chen Fan said.

"Father said back then that once you reached Qi Refining Layer 6, you could go retrieve the inheritance. But just now, before I left, I brought it up with Elder Li, and he cut me off before I could finish. It seemed like he didn't want to mention it in front of others."

"Maybe he doesn't want outsiders to know the Chen Clan has an inheritance, fearing it would bring disaster?" Chen Fan ventured. Though he was more inclined to suspect Elder Li of coveting the Chen Clan's inheritance, he didn't know Elder Li's character well enough to jump to conclusions.

But Chen Jingjing's eyes lit up with realization at his words, and she nodded slightly. "That's very possible. I remember among the things Father left behind, there was something extraordinary—a palm-sized jade disk with a needle on it. When I was little, I saw Father holding that disk and walking all over the house, as if searching for something. Finally, I saw him dig a crystal from the backyard. Only later did I understand that crystal was a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and it was because of that stone that Father managed to break through to Qi Refining Eighth Layer."

"Is that a Treasure Seeking Disk?" Chen Fan was taken aback. If what Chen Jingjing said was true, then this item was indeed extraordinary. In today's resource-scarce cultivation world on Earth, if such a treasure appeared, it would inevitably spark a frenzy among high-level experts.

"It should be. We were young then, and Father didn't say much about it. Maybe Elder Li is afraid this item will attract outsiders' attention, which is why he doesn't want to discuss it," Chen Jingjing said.

But Chen Fan's expression grew serious. If it were just an ordinary treasure, that would be one thing, but with such a priceless artifact and Elder Li's behavior, his suspicions only deepened.

Even if he didn't want to talk about the inheritance, there was no need to act so cold. He remembered that in the small wooden house, Elder Li hadn't even glanced at the siblings more than necessary, and when their eyes met, it was like looking at strangers.

"Tomorrow, we'll go to Heavy Sword Peak to find him," Chen Fan said in a low voice.

"Mm." Chen Jingjing nodded, not dwelling on it further. Then she opened her mouth slightly, as if hesitating to speak.

Chen Fan, with his keen observation, naturally noticed this and asked, "What's wrong?"

Seeing that her little gesture had been caught, Chen Jingjing could only stick out her tongue and say, "Brother, when you go to Heavy Sword Peak tomorrow, why not transfer to the Inner Court on the way? I know you said you'd quit Heavy Sword Peak in anger today, but you did save the senior disciple. I'm sure Elder Lin and the others won't hold it against you."

"There's no need to discuss this further. Even if Elder Lin hadn't pressured me today, I would have left Heavy Sword Peak soon anyway. I need to travel far and train," Chen Fan said, shaking his head.

Seeing Chen Fan's serious expression, Chen Jingjing was momentarily stunned. Then she recalled that Chen Fan's strength had already far surpassed his peers. Especially after witnessing him easily dodge the Young Sect Master's attack today, she had a new understanding of his abilities.

Yes, with him being this strong now, the small Heavy Sword City could no longer contain him!

Chen Jingjing knew that if Chen Fan stayed here, it would only hinder his future path. With his talent, reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm was practically a given.

"Once tomorrow's business is done, I'll teach you Formless Step and some sword techniques. They'll be of great benefit to you. In our path of cultivation, besides talent, resources are incredibly important." Seeing the reluctance in Chen Jingjing's eyes, Chen Fan patted her head lightly, then turned and walked toward his room.

Chen Jingjing felt a warmth flow through her heart. This was the most affectionate gesture her elder brother had ever shown her since childhood, and a sense of security she had never experienced before welled up inside her.

"So this is what it feels like to have a brother." A faint smile appeared on Chen Jingjing's face as she headed to her own room.

At that moment, Chen Fan was sitting cross-legged on the floor. His Heavenly Court Token had shattered and was unusable, but he had opened another path to the Heavenly Court and could take physical objects out of it.

"If my divine sense grows strong enough in the future, perhaps I can bring things from this world into the Heavenly Court—like that Treasure Seeking Disk from the Chen Clan inheritance," Chen Fan thought to himself.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was inside the Immortal Cave of the Heavenly Court. His Heavenly Court body was still sitting in meditation, while the Green-feathered Bird was wandering around aimlessly.

Without touching anything, Chen Fan suddenly thrust his consciousness back into his own body.

"Kid, there's a ghost here," a mysterious voice came from the Green-feathered Bird as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Where there are immortals, there are ghosts. What's so strange about a ghost?" Chen Fan said casually, not telling the Green-feathered Bird that the talisman was his doing, not a ghost.

But the Green-feathered Bird's expression now carried a hint of seriousness. Its two large eyes were wide as lanterns, trying its best to look solemn and earnest, but it only came off as somewhat comical.

"But this cave is protected by a restriction. How could a ghost possibly get in? If there is one, it must be an extraordinary fierce spirit. You're just in time—come help me look for it." The Green-feathered Bird babbled on as it scurried around the Medicine Field, nearly stepping on the few remaining Seven-Star Grass plants.

"What are you looking for it for? Come out with me quickly—I need to accumulate 500 Immortal Qi as fast as possible, then break through to the second layer of the Heavenly Court." Chen Fan said. Now that he could take things out of the Heavenly Court, he didn't want to waste any time. Only by raising his strength could he have a chance to access broader territories. With the Heavenly Court's abundant resources, his opportunities to gain fortune would be far greater than on Earth.

"No way. This Seat has lived for so many years and has never seen what a ghost looks like. He just swiped a Talisman off you—aren't you upset?"

"Not upset. If it's gone, I'll draw another one." Chen Fan shook his head, completely calm.

"Kid, I feel like something's off here." The Green-feathered Bird eyed Chen Fan suspiciously.

Chen Fan just smiled without speaking, pondering how many challenge matches he should fight to accumulate 500 Immortal Qi.

"Right now I have 110 points of Immortal Qi. If I win one match, I'll reach over 200. Win another, and with some luck, I'll hit 500." Chen Fan muttered to himself. He wouldn't choose to match by realm—after all, a One-Star Heavenly Soldier at Qi Refining Layer 4 was probably extremely rare in the Heavenly Court, and for him, he'd rather face some stronger opponents.

"Your math is off. Haven't you considered the possibility of losing? If you lose, all your Immortal Qi is gone, and you'll have to start from scratch." The Green-feathered Bird walked up beside him.

"I won't lose. Let's go out." Chen Fan said with a faint smile.

The Green-feathered Bird shot him a disdainful look, then flapped its wings. In an instant, Chen Fan appeared outside the Heavenly Court Hall, and the Green-feathered Bird transformed back into a jade pendant hanging at his waist.

"As the master of the Immortal Cave, can't I control entering and exiting on my own?" Chen Fan found it troublesome to rely on the Green-feathered Bird for teleportation every time.

"Of course you can. Besides carrying me, you also need to memorize an incantation." The Green-feathered Bird's voice came from the jade pendant into his ear.

"So there's an incantation. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Damn it, you never asked." The Green-feathered Bird transmitted.

"..."