Ao Xie had always been lawless and unruly. Any other cultivator undergoing Tribulation Transcendence would have trembled in fear before the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, but Ao Xie dared to point the long halberd in his hand straight at it.
In his heart, Ao Xie had even less respect for Chen Xiao. The attitude he displayed now was merely the proper one for a Tribulation Disciple toward Chen Xiao, his Tribulation Master.
In other words, Ao Xie had suppressed his true nature and erased his individuality, allowing himself to be assimilated as a Tribulation Disciple. If someone with such a distinct personality as Ao Xie continued down this path, he might develop inner demons and go mad.
Chen Xiao did not want that to happen.
"I understand."
Ao Xie nodded and straightened up. His face had already returned to its usual cold indifference.
"Now that's the Dragon Clan's genius crown prince, Ao Xie." Chen Xiao nodded. He took the bottle of the Dragon Clan's sacred healing medicine, the Eight-Treasure Heavenly Spirit Pill, from Ao Xie and put it in his Storage Ring.
"From now on, stay by my side. There'll be no shortage of battles here, which will be greatly beneficial to your growth."
"Mm." Ao Xie nodded.
Chen Xiao smiled faintly, took a jade-colored talisman from his robes, and handed it to Ao Xie. "This is the Heaven-Concealing Talisman left behind by Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal. It can conceal your true aura."
Ao Xie's eyes lit up. Without a word, he merged the Heaven-Concealing Talisman into his body. In an instant, the fearsome aura that had surrounded him vanished, and his cultivation fell to the Nascent Soul Realm. His appearance changed slightly, too. Though some of his features remained the same, no one would be able to tell that this Nascent Soul cultivator was none other than the Dragon Clan's renowned genius crown prince.
Now that Chen Xiao could use the Flowing Light Flying Moon Talisman, the Heaven-Concealing Jade Talisman was no longer of much use to him. It was just right for Ao Xie. The identity of Ao Xie, the Dragon Clan's crown prince, could not be exposed, or it would bring endless trouble.
Chen Xiao did not know exactly what the Heaven-Concealing Talisman could do, but he understood that as long as someone's cultivation did not surpass Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal's, they would be unable to see through the concealment it provided.
However, one thing greatly surprised Chen Xiao. Ao Tianchen, the Dragon Emperor of the Crystal Dragon Palace in the Worry-Free Sea, had already announced that the Dragon Clan's ninth crown prince, Ao Xie, had turned to ash during his tribulation because of interference from the Sea Ghost Clan.
The Dragon Clan of the Worry-Free Sea had now gone to war against the Sea Ghost Clan. Chen Xiao couldn't help admiring Ao Tianchen. He'd gotten what he wanted and still managed to play the victim. But this was also an excellent opportunity. Because of Chen Xiao's intervention, the Sea Ghost Clan's seventeen Mystic Immortals had fallen directly into Ao Tianchen's hands, dealing the clan a severe blow. And this incident also gave him the perfect pretext to start a war.
He could weaken the Sea Ghost Clan while keeping Ao Xie safe as he traveled abroad, letting him fake his death and live out of sight. Two birds with one stone.
Chen Xiao called over a servant to prepare a place for Ao Xie to stay and showed him there. Then he sat down cross-legged again, preparing to heal.
His mind had taken a considerable blow, but the Dragon Clan's sacred healing medicine, the Eight-Treasure Heavenly Spirit Pill, was just the thing to mend the damage to his spiritual consciousness.
After Chen Xiao swallowed the Eight-Treasure Heavenly Spirit Pill, his true essence stirred faintly as he refined its medicinal power. Flecks of blue-green light slowly flowed into his spiritual consciousness, repairing the damage from the backlash of the tribulation lightning.
The Eight-Treasure Heavenly Spirit Pill was a third-grade immortal pill. It didn't take much time to treat a mere Golden Core Realm cultivator like Chen Xiao. After only half an hour, two jade-green beams of light shot from his eyes. His injured spiritual consciousness had been completely restored. What was more, with the immortal pill's power, Chen Xiao's mind cultivation had advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm.
"Not bad, not bad. True essence is easy to cultivate, but the mind is far more difficult. In my previous life, my cultivation reached the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, but my spiritual consciousness from that realm couldn't be reborn. I can only slowly cultivate it back."
Chen Xiao was very pleased with the result.
Chen Xiao did not summon any more Tribulation Disciples. He had been in seclusion for three days and needed to learn what was happening outside before making any plans.
When Chen Xiao stepped out of his room, he couldn't help but freeze.
Cai Di was glaring furiously at the cold-faced Ao Xie, his beard bristling in outrage. He hadn't expected this white-haired brat to dare argue with him. Though Chen Xiao's Breath-Concealing Talisman had concealed Cai Di's cultivation at the Nascent Soul Realm, he was a genuine Integrated Body Late Stage powerhouse.
"What's going on?"
Chen Xiao walked over and asked with a frown.
"I want that courtyard. Make those two move out," Ao Xie said, pointing at Cai Di's courtyard.
Cultivators preferred not to have anyone disturb them when they sat in meditation. So it was best to have a private courtyard, with a formation barrier set up around it.
Chen Xiao had originally meant to tell the servants to prepare a private courtyard for Ao Xie. But somehow, the servant had misunderstood and prepared a guest room instead, which infuriated Ao Xie.
When he arrived, Ao Xie had noticed Cai Di's little courtyard. He hadn't expected the two men to be treated so differently, even though they were both servants of the young master. So he had gone straight to Cai Di.
"Young master, who is this brat, and why is he making such a fuss?" Cai Di glared at Ao Xie, his beard bristling. Meanwhile, Mengmeng looked at Chen Xiao with a wounded expression.
"Give me one reason." Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow and looked at Ao Xie.
"I'm stronger than them, so I deserve a better place to live," Ao Xie said bluntly. "The strong should receive the treatment they deserve."
Ao Xie's words left Cai Di seething with frustration.
"That's true enough. How about this: the two of you can fight, and the winner gets that courtyard."
Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Fine." Ao Xie already had the Star Halberd in his hand.
"I won't fight." Cai Di shook his head.
"Hm?" Chen Xiao's eyes widened.
"I only know how to kill." Cai Di lifted his chin and looked down at Ao Xie. "The young master must have seen something in you, so you can't be weak. But I can tell you this: unless you reach the immortal realm, you're no match for me."
The long halberd in Ao Xie's hand rose. His expression grew colder still, and the way he looked at Cai Di was like a dead man's.
"Young master, count me in. If I stay in your shadow all the time, not only will I be unable to cultivate, I'll also disturb you."
Suddenly, another voice rang out in Chen Xiao's mind, giving him a headache.
Every one of the people around him was unruly. It seemed it would be hard to get them to live in peace.
There was Cai Di, who could even take down immortals. Then there was Ao Xie, a once-in-a-millennium genius of the Dragon Clan. And the Shadow hidden in Chen Xiao's silhouette was the shadow of a fallen powerhouse. After absorbing the fallen powerhouse's vitality, he had taken form. His strength was not to be underestimated, either.
Chen Xiao smiled helplessly. Having one genius in his hands was a blessing, and two was fine too—competition spurred progress. But three or four... That would be a real headache. They might just blow the entire City Lord's Mansion sky-high.
Without waiting for Chen Xiao to tell him to, Shadow stepped out of Chen Xiao's silhouette. He did an excellent job of hiding his true form, though, and did not appear directly before the others. Instead, he walked in through the courtyard gate.
Even Ao Xie hadn't noticed him. After all, Shadow was a born assassin.
Shadow's current appearance was exactly like that of the corpse that had fallen in the desert, only countless times smaller. He had a stern face, wore a blue-green robe, and carried an ancient bronze sword on his back.
"Count me in. If I win, that courtyard is mine." A smile appeared on Shadow's chiseled face.