Spirit-Devouring Profound Fire

Why would he refuse?

The spiritual energy in that godforsaken Hundred Herb Valley was painfully thin.

If he dared turn down the offer, the Flowing Cloud Technique would surely raise hell with him.

Elder Xie smiled and nodded. "Good. Go back to Hundred Herb Valley and pack your things. I'll arrange for someone to fetch you."

"Yes."

Chen Xuan acknowledged the instruction.

Elder Zhang then continued handing out rewards to the others.

Chen Xuan had taken first place.

Second and third went to two other Spirit Body cultivators.

Throughout the ten days of the trial, Chen Xuan had not encountered either of them.

One was a man and the other a woman. Neither had expected Chen Xuan to take first place.

They had assumed the top three would be this year's three Spirit Body cultivators.

But then... Shen Xinghe had run into Chen Xuan.

As a result, Shen Xinghe had only made the top ten.

The difference between the rewards for the top three and the top ten was no small thing.

Still, Shen Xinghe had lost fair and square. He bore Chen Xuan no grudge over it.

At most, he could lament his rotten luck.

Once the rewards for the top hundred had been handed out, the Floating Cloud Trial officially came to an end.

The three elders were the first to leave.

The disciples gathered in the square also began preparing to go their separate ways.

Shen Xinghe came over to Chen Xuan.

"Brother Chen, come visit Taixiao Peak whenever you have time."

"I certainly will."

Chen Xuan replied politely.

After exchanging greetings, Shen Xinghe left.

Chen Xuan noticed that quite a few people were still staring at him, so he left too.

He had not been flying his White Cloud Artifact long when someone caught up to him.

Chen Xuan thought it was another new disciple, but a closer look revealed Song Tao.

"Senior Brother Song."

Chen Xuan stopped and cupped his hands in greeting.

Song Tao looked at Chen Xuan with a strange expression.

He never would have imagined that Chen Xuan, the disciple he had escorted to Hundred Herb Valley, would take first place in the Floating Cloud Trial.

And now Chen Xuan was about to be transferred to Danxiao Peak.

The Pill Hall was merely one of the halls under Danxiao Peak.

A Pill Hall disciple naturally ranked below a disciple of the Nine Firmaments.

"Junior Brother Chen, you really kept me in the dark."

Song Tao spoke with a rueful sigh.

Chen Xuan smiled. "Senior Brother, I didn't hide anything from you. You just never asked how strong I was."

Song Tao was at a loss for words.

He really had never asked.

He had simply assumed that, stuck in that godforsaken Hundred Herb Valley, Chen Xuan was probably only at the first level of Qi Gathering.

He had never expected Chen Xuan to reach the fourth level of Qi Gathering already.

That pace of cultivation rivaled a Spirit Body's.

And Chen Xuan had cultivated in Hundred Herb Valley, no less.

The new disciples might not understand what that meant, but Song Tao had been to Hundred Herb Valley. He knew exactly how impressive it was.

If Chen Xuan had spent those first three months anywhere else, he might already be pushing for Late-Stage Qi Gathering. He might even have reached it.

At that pace, forget Spirit Bodies—he could rival a King Body.

"Come to think of it, I should thank you for telling me so much about the trial. You have my thanks, Senior Brother."

Chen Xuan cupped his hands again.

Song Tao had only given him some information, but it had helped.

Song Tao waved a hand, looking a little embarrassed. "Don't say that, Junior Brother. It was the least I could do... I won't keep you. You'd better get back to Hundred Herb Valley and pack."

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Chen Xuan thanked him once more, then flew off on his white cloud.

Before long, Chen Xuan returned to Hundred Herb Valley.

In truth, he had hardly anything to pack. He tossed a few odds and ends into his Storage Bag, and that was that.

Standing in the courtyard, Chen Xuan looked around.

He had only spent three months here, but he had grown somewhat attached to the place.

It was a pleasant spot, really. Quiet, too, and he liked places like this.

If only the spiritual energy were not so thin.

Chen Xuan sat in the courtyard and waited a while.

A woman descended into the courtyard on a white cloud.

Judging by her attire, she was a Spirit Sea Realm disciple.

At the Cloud Sea Sect, disciples fell into three categories.

There were outer disciples in the Qi Gathering Realm, inner disciples in the Spirit Sea Realm, and core disciples in the Dao Foundation Realm.

The three groups wore different clothing, making them easy to tell apart.

Chen Xuan rose and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Senior Sister."

"No need for formalities, Junior Brother Chen. I'm Jiang Qiong. My master sent me to bring you to the peak. Have you packed your things?"

Jiang Qiong spoke with a smile.

She seemed easy to get along with.

"Everything's packed."

Chen Xuan nodded at once.

"Then let's go. Come aboard, Junior Brother."

Jiang Qiong took out a White Cloud Artifact and invited Chen Xuan to ride it with her.

Her White Cloud Artifact looked somewhat like Chen Xuan's, but they were entirely different.

The appearance was one thing. More importantly, hers was a supreme-grade artifact.

Chen Xuan stepped onto it.

Jiang Qiong flew at astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, the White Cloud Artifact had carried them both out of Hundred Herb Valley.

"Junior Brother Chen, would you like to exchange your trial rewards first?"

"Sorry to trouble you, Senior Sister."

"It's no trouble."

With that, Jiang Qiong took Chen Xuan to the Contribution Hall.

Even before they arrived, Chen Xuan saw plenty of people going in and out, including some disciples who had joined the sect alongside him this year.

It seemed they had come to exchange their rewards for Contribution Points too.

The two soon landed outside the Contribution Hall.

Jiang Qiong led Chen Xuan inside and helped him exchange both his jade plaques and tokens for Contribution Points.

Even Jiang Qiong was startled when Chen Xuan produced more than four thousand tokens.

She had not heard what happened in this year's Floating Cloud Trial. Her master, Elder Xie, had only told her to fetch the disciple who had placed first and settle Chen Xuan at Danxiao Peak.

She had already been astonished to hear that the winner came from Hundred Herb Valley. Yet she had still underestimated Chen Xuan. More than four thousand tokens—what ordinary disciple could manage that?

The disciples at the Contribution Hall were dumbstruck by the sight of them.

But the hall only cared about the jade plaques and tokens, not where they had come from. They exchanged the lot for Contribution Points and credited them to Chen Xuan's Disciple Token.

After they left, Jiang Qiong took him to the Artifact Hall.

The Artifact Hall and the Dao Technique Hall were both nearby, so there was no need to fly.

On the way, Jiang Qiong asked Chen Xuan about the trial.

She wanted to know, for instance, how he had obtained so many tokens.

Chen Xuan hid nothing. Whatever Jiang Qiong asked, he answered.

Jiang Qiong clicked her tongue in wonder when he finished.

"Impressive, impressive. No wonder my master wanted you at Danxiao Peak. Have you thought about which artifact and Dao Technique you want?"

After that remark, Jiang Qiong turned to the matter at hand.

"Do you have any advice, Senior Sister?"

"Do you know one major difference between Danxiao Peak's disciples and those of the other peaks?"

"Most Danxiao Peak disciples are skilled at alchemy?"

"That's right. Now that you've joined Danxiao Peak, you might consider learning alchemy too. If you're interested, you could choose the Spirit-Devouring Profound Fire. It's excellent for refining pills, and its power is far from ordinary."