Hearing Zhao Ke's startled cry, Zhang Huai said slowly, "Indeed. I am a deacon of the Saint Hall in Central Province."
"Under the Saint's decree, I came to escort Fellow Daoist Chen to the Saint Hall. But a Void Demon attacked us along the way, leaving us stranded here."
"Central Province-the central great region, the Saint Hall!"
Zhao Ke's expression stiffened slightly. Emotions shifted across his face, and he muttered to himself for a while before finally exhaling a long, heavy breath.
"To think Brother Chen's destination was actually the Saint Hall in Central Province." He glanced at Chen Xian, then at Zhang Huai. "I never imagined I would meet someone from Central Province again after twenty-six years."
Chen Xian stripped off his tattered blue robe and changed into fresh clothes, tossing Zhang Huai a set of robes and a first-grade Spring Return Pill.
Then he turned to Zhao Ke. "Old Zhao, from your tone, it sounds like you know something about Central Province?"
"I do."
Zhao Ke sighed. "Two hundred years ago, the Medical Saint Hall was one of the thirty-six sects under the Medical Saint of the great region of Central Province.
"Later, an upheaval wiped out more than half our sect's strongest members. Only then did our grandmaster lead the surviving disciples across the great regions and settle in this Desolate Region to escape the calamity."
Surprise flickered in Zhang Huai's eyes, and he nodded. "That did happen. There was an upheaval among the Saints two hundred years ago, and many lineages were lost from Central Province."
"So Fellow Daoist Zhao is an heir to a sect of the saintly path. As long as we can escape this Myriad Beast Abyss, I can use my Saint Hall token to take you to Central Province with us."
"That