Spirit Spring Crisis!

"Who did this? Who the hell did this?" After taking stock, although nothing had been stolen, Chen Huai'an was still furious.

These people had gone too far.

"Stop shouting. Even if something was stolen, screaming your throat raw won't help." A tall youth rubbed his eyes and looked at the furious Chen Huai'an.

"Zeng Fan, do you know who did it? Tell me quickly," Chen Huai'an asked the tall youth.

At Chen Huai'an's shouting, the half-grown youths living in nearby stone rooms poked their heads out as well, looking like they had come to watch a show.

"I don't know, Brother Chen. Could it be that you offended someone?" Zeng Fan frowned, a trace of maturity beyond his years showing on his young face.

Offended someone? Damn it, he had not offended anyone. Not only had he not offended anyone, he had been bullied instead.

He had been followed when he went down the mountain today. When he returned, his room had been ransacked from top to bottom.

Chen Huai'an was poor to begin with. He only had one set of spare clothes issued by the sect and no luggage at all. He was so broke even a bell would not ring—who would come to his place to steal?

Zhang Hu. It had to be that bastard Zhang Hu.

That guy truly clung to him like a ghost that would not disperse.

These people were all younger than him, just half-grown boys. Even if they knew something, they would not dare say it.

Chen Huai'an asked a few more people, but they knew nothing either, so he could only let it go.

At the same time, at Zhang Hu's residence on Servant Peak.

"You found nothing at all on that kid?" Zhang Hu asked the two men before him.

"Young Master Zhang, I followed that kid for half the day and discovered nothing useful. He only went down the mountain to bathe, then returned to his residence," Wang Tong said with a frown.

Zhang Hu looked at the other man, who hurriedly spoke. "I found nothing at his residence either. He was poor enough that even a bell would not ring. There wasn't a single valuable thing there."

"So he really has no more Spirit Spring Water?" Zhang Hu frowned.

After drinking that jar of Spirit Spring Water, he had felt as though he had taken several low-grade Body Tempering Pills. If he could get more, his cultivation would definitely improve, and breaking through to the second level of the Body Tempering Realm would be within easy reach.

"I don't know. Today, I followed him as he bathed in the river below the mountain, then he came straight back. He didn't go anywhere else along the way," Wang Tong said, frowning.

If there truly was such a spirit spring, they could share in the benefits as well.

"Looks like we'll have to show this fellow some colors and force him to reveal where that spirit spring comes from." Zhang Hu frowned. According to information from the Zhang Family, wherever a spirit spring was located, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was usually denser. He had encountered a bottleneck. To break through, he either had to take pills or find a place with dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth to enter seclusion.

He was only a servant disciple, not an outer sect disciple, and did not have a mountain of his own for cultivation. Every place on Servant Peak with dense spiritual energy already had an owner. Even if he wanted to seize one, he could not win it.

An ownerless spirit spring was different. Even if it produced no Spirit Spring Water, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth nearby would surely be dense. Such a treasured place had to be put to use.

A small jar of Spirit Spring Water meant little to high-level cultivators, but to these resource-starved outer sect servant disciples, it was a supreme treasure worth smashing their heads over to seize.

The sect did have spirit springs, but their daily output was recorded. Even the disciples guarding them could not claim them for themselves.

Ownerless spirit springs, however, did not fall under such restrictions. If you had the ability to occupy one, it was yours—but only if you could defend it.

"I'm at a critical point in my breakthrough. I don't care what methods you use, but you must find out where that spirit spring is. Once this is done, your rewards will not be lacking," Zhang Hu said to the two men.

"Young Master Zhang, don't worry. I've already found out that this guy has a useless five-element mixed spiritual root. He's trash, nothing but trash. If he refuses to reveal the spirit spring's location, we'll kill him," Wang Tong said through gritted teeth.

If Chen Huai'an refused to talk, they would give him a vicious beating. He would become obedient immediately.

Chen Huai'an sat on the crude wooden bed, unable to calm himself. His right eyelid kept twitching.

Back in Huai Tree Village, Su Daqiang had attacked him without warning. Just because he and Su Wanying had been promised to each other as children, the man had wanted him dead.

Though he did not know why, he did not want to experience something like that a second time. His fate could only be held in his own hands, not entrusted to the mercy of others.

He already knew where the danger came from. He had to face it and find a solution, not sit still and wait for death.

They had already come to his home and failed to find what they wanted. Those bastards would definitely not let the matter rest.

Chen Huai'an clenched his fists tightly.

In the end, it was because he was too weak. If he were strong enough, and these people dared scheme against him like this, he would simply kill them.

To gain a foothold on Servant Peak, he still needed a backer. With a backer, he would not have to fear others targeting him.

But the key problem was that his aptitude was too poor. He was trash among trash in their eyes. Without proving himself, no one on Servant Peak would be willing to take him on as a lackey. Finding a backer was nothing more than a dream.

A figure surfaced in Chen Huai'an's mind: Qin Fairy from the inner sect. He had entered Qingyun Sect as a servant disciple because of her. If he could gain her protection, then while he might not be able to swagger across the outer sect's Servant Peak, no blind fool should dare trouble him.

But he lived on Servant Peak. He could not even enter the outer sect, much less the inner sect. How could he seek her protection?

The moment this path appeared, it was blocked off.

Was he really going to sit still and wait for death?

Chen Huai'an had no intention of sitting there awaiting death.

"Damn it, I'll gamble on this. Rather than sit still and wait for death, I might as well strike first." Chen Huai'an gritted his teeth fiercely.

He could not beat them in a fight, so he could only think of another method.

Chen Huai'an's mind raced. To get through this crisis, the best method was to kill with a borrowed knife.

The only question was whose knife he should borrow. That person required careful planning.

On Servant Peak, aside from a few fellow disciples living nearby, Chen Huai'an knew hardly anyone. There was almost no one who could help him.

That night, Chen Huai'an did not rest at all. He continuously drank Spirit Spring Water and cultivated.

He had to seize every moment to improve his strength. Relying on others was inferior to relying on himself.

After cultivating through the night, Chen Huai'an opened another meridian. Spiritual energy flowed into his body more smoothly, and he came one step closer to opening all the meridians required for the first level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Early the next morning, the moment Chen Huai'an stepped outside, the figure that had followed him yesterday was once again lurking nearby.

What quietly relieved Chen Huai'an was that Zhang Hu, that Body Tempering Realm expert, had not appeared. It was only one of his lackeys.

This person likely had not broken through to the first level of the Body Tempering Realm. He was probably like Chen Huai'an, having only opened some blocked meridians. Though he was stronger, he was not stronger by much. Chen Huai'an had a chance to contend with him.

What Chen Huai'an needed to do now was eliminate Zhang Hu's followers. No one could know about it; it had to be done without a sound or trace.

If anything happened within the sect, suspicion would point toward him. But outside, in an uninhabited place, things would be different.

Having figured out the crucial point, Chen Huai'an prepared to go down the mountain.

Only outside would he have a chance to make his move.

"Kid, you still dare go out? There's a road to heaven, yet you refuse to take it; hell has no gate, yet you insist on barging in." Seeing Chen Huai'an heading down the mountain at such a moment, Wang Tong immediately laughed.