Strayed In

The moment he landed, someone crashed right onto him. Good grief—if he had not at least been at the Qi Refining Stage, he probably would have kicked the bucket a second time by now.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? What kind of person just drops onto someone else like that? Say something!"

Strayed In

Bian Chunchou scrambled up furiously, ready to find the culprit and settle this face-to-face. Good people were always bullied—if he swallowed this insult today, then his surname wasn't—

"Hey, brother, why are you coughing up blood? Hey, hey, hey, don't spit out that much! Don't die at my feet! You're trying to scam me, do you understand?!"

Bian Chunchou staggered back three steps in fright. It had to be said, cultivating immortality really did wonders for one's physique. Such a huge person had smashed down on him, and he had only hurt a little at first; now, he did not feel a thing.

But having died once, Bian Chunchou treasured his life beyond measure. Better safe than sorry, so he popped a Qi-Replenishing Pill to steady his breath. He could fail the exam, but he had to start with full health.

But what was with this brother on the ground? Why did he seem like he was about to stop breathing? They were both at the Qi Refining Stage—wasn't this guy a little too fragile?

"Brother? Big brother?"

The brother on the ground still did not respond. Bian Chunchou had no choice. His heart was simply too soft; he could not stand by and watch someone die. Though this was supposed to be an exam where every second counted, after some thought, he still took out two Blood-Recovery Pills and fed them to the man.

They were fellow examinees. This was all he could give—any more would be impolite.

Wen Xu was actually awake, or rather, barely awake. When he had crashed down just now, he had instantly lost consciousness, but the violent pain in his chest soon roused him again. He struggled to crack his eyes open, only to see a field of blood-red.

He was probably about to die, Wen Xu thought with difficulty. But at least he had not died at those three people's hands.

He thought this with remarkable calm. Just then, an unfamiliar voice kept calling him brother, growing louder and louder until it became impossible to ignore.

Could it be a soul-snatching ghost envoy?

Wen Xu could not be bothered with it, nor did he have the strength to be bothered. Besides, he was about to die—who cared if floodwaters surged behind him?

Yet this person would not let up. By then, Wen Xu's five senses had nearly vanished. He only felt that the voice was drifting over from a distant shore. Just as he tried to listen more closely, the searing pain throughout his body suddenly reached his mind with crystal clarity. In the next instant, he opened his eyes, and that strange feeling of being on death's doorstep... disappeared.

"Wow, you're awake!"

Bian Chunchou had originally been planning to leave. As for the two Blood-Recovery Pills he had lost, he would count them as one good deed for the day. But just as he was about to stand, he met a pair of... lifeless eyes.

Wen Xu was still dazed. Just moments ago, he had secretly pinched himself, and it had hurt terribly! He had not died!

"I... didn't die?"

Hearing that, Bian Chunchou found it rather strange, though he could not say what was strange about it. "Of course you didn't die. You dropped onto someone the moment you entered the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm—how are you this capable?"

Cloud-Breaking... Secret Realm?!

"You saved me?" Though Wen Xu had only just escaped death, the instinct he had cultivated from years of pretense still made him conceal the fact that he had been hunted down and fallen from a cliff.

Bian Chunchou nodded. "Of course. Who else did you think it was?" The cultivation world had always believed in the strong devouring the weak, and murder for treasure often happened in the wilderness. But this was the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm, the first trial ground for Yonglu Mountain's disciple selection. Surely no idiot would repay kindness with enmity over two Blood-Recovery Pills the moment they arrived.

"Thank you for saving my life. My name is Wen Xu; I am You Youxu, courtesy name Bu Jing. May I ask this brother's honored name? One day, I shall surely repay this life-saving grace."

Why did this guy speak so affectedly, giving both his name and style name? The more Bian Chunchou looked at him, the stranger he seemed. Yet judging by the aura around him, he was indeed a cultivator who had opened his Qi Sea. "Forget the life-saving grace. It was only two Blood-Recovery Pills. As for my name, that isn't important. I'm busy gathering spirit plants, so I'll have to decline the small talk."

With that, he dusted off his backside and left. After all, the exam would not wait for anyone. He was no heaven-blessed prodigy; he had to hurry and win through sheer quantity.

Only after the sound of footsteps gradually faded away did Wen Xu finally let out half a sigh of relief.

He truly had not expected that he could fall from such a high cliff and still survive. That could only mean his life was not meant to end. Wen Xu could not help laughing, but he quickly could not laugh anymore.

Because he was starving—so hungry he could barely walk.

His savior had said this place was the Cloud-Breaking Secret Realm, and that the medicinal pills used to treat his injuries were called Blood-Recovery Pills. Wen Xu had read countless books, yet he could honestly say he had... never heard of them. Furthermore, that person had said he was in a hurry to gather spirit plants. Though Wen Xu had never heard of spirit plants either, the name was easy enough to understand. There were always all sorts of miscellaneous books and storybooks among the common folk, where lucky people wandered into immortal realms by mistake. The immortals did not blame them; instead, they even gave them spirit plants and pills that granted immortality, sometimes even letting fairy maidens accompany the lucky ones home.

So, had he encountered immortals?

Wen Xu could not help laughing again, though naturally, he was laughing at his own wild fancy. If immortals truly existed in this world, why was the world so unfair? Why had he been hunted for no reason at all? Well, not entirely without reason—the man had said he possessed the wrong face.

Wen Xu could not help touching his own face. What a pity. He did not even know what he looked like.

He had luckily survived, but those three men were no small fry. Before they saw his corpse, they likely would not let the matter rest. In a county town, even a provincial graduate was enough to earn respect. But beneath the Son of Heaven's feet in the capital, not to mention provincial graduates, even presented scholars were as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river. Wen Xu understood very well that he could no longer return to the capital to sit the examinations.

He could not gamble his life a second time.

What was more, after seven days and seven nights of pursuit, followed by this near-fatal fall from a cliff, he still did not know who his enemies were. For someone as prone to holding grudges as Wen Xu, that was unbearably frustrating.

Still, a gentleman took revenge even if ten years passed. Since he had survived and could no longer take the examinations, then he would first set himself a small goal: he had to accumulate strength and find the mastermind behind those pursuing him.

Wen Xu quickly talked himself through it. Perhaps because he had passed the worst of his hunger, he no longer felt quite so awful. He even found the wounds on his body unbearably itchy. Unable to resist, he scratched at them—and actually felt scabbed blood beneath his fingers.