Three Thousand Years of Destiny

Jiang Chen waited for a long time, but Liu Ruyan still did not appear.

Had he guessed wrong?

Jiang Chen felt somewhat disappointed, and even a little afraid afterward.

He had thought that the battle just now was Liu Ruyan testing the results of his cultivation, which was why he had remained so calm.

Could it really have been a fight to the death?

A chill ran down Jiang Chen's spine. He had no choice but to personally cover the Burial Ground with enough dirt, stones, and fallen leaves so that no one could spot anything unusual.

Only then did he climb over the ridge and head out of the sect.

As he descended the slope, he finally heard a woman's voice behind him.

"Don't you think your mastery of the Demi-Immortal's Book is a little too perfect?"

Jiang Chen stopped. Although he knew Liu Ruyan had leaked the information and used someone else to test his strength,

the fact that she had followed him meant she was seriously beginning to consider whether this so-called destiny was real.

He remained calm and did not turn around.

In the next instant, a petite, graceful figure appeared before him.

Veiled by the night, her form became even more indistinct, carrying a trace of alluring charm.

"Where did you get the jade slip for cultivating spirit control? Can you let me take a look?"

Jiang Chen was slightly startled.

Come to think of it, Chen Gongxing's annotations on the Basic Spirit Control cultivation method were far too thorough.

Aside from the Spiritual Power Spiral Ball, Spiritual Power Snap, and Spirit-Infused Sword Art he had already cultivated, there was also a legendary spirit-control technique called Myriad Phenomena Resonance that had yet to unlock. It required his physique, soul, and cultivation to reach certain conditions before it could be seen.

For now, Jiang Chen did not want to implicate Steward Chen, so he quickly changed the subject.

"It has nothing to do with the jade slip. The key to cultivating the Demi-Immortal's Book lies in soul arts."

Touching her delicate lips with a fingertip, Liu Ruyan asked doubtfully,

"I also simulated my dantian to become the Five-Element Endowment and cultivated the Demi-Immortal Method for several days.

This method looks flawless, but it places incredibly high demands on the soul's resistance. Even a master illusionist like me nearly had my soul fall into the Abyss.

Yet you were completely unharmed. How could you merge demonic energy with spiritual energy and command the five-element spiritual power?"

Jiang Chen shrugged and answered bluntly,

"I can deduce the details, while you can only deduce the direction. That is the difference between us."

Liu Ruyan suddenly leaned closer and, under the cover of night, actually took Jiang Chen's hand.

"I'm asking where the root of it lies."

Jiang Chen remained unmoved.

The root of it is that my soul belongs to a transmigrator backed by a system. I can break Reverend Guiqi's Soul-Severing Art, pull my soul back from the abyss of cultivating the Demi-Immortal Method, and survive the explosive impact of demonic and spiritual energy merging into an abyss within my sea of qi...

The words reached his lips, but he deliberately put on an unfathomable air and played hard to get.

"If you want to know the true root of it, then it depends on whether you are my destiny."

Liu Ruyan released Jiang Chen's hand. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly smiled.

"Then stay tonight."

I can stay, but not tonight... Jiang Chen thought. If Liu Ruyan truly meant it, the best choice would be for her to leave the Azure Mist Sect with him tonight.

Unfortunately, she was waiting for the Heavenly Demon Sect to attack the mountain.

This woman was betraying both sides. He could not trust her completely. Who knew what she wanted by asking him to stay? What if she harvested his kidney? What if she implanted a chip in his brain?

Without a simulated scenario, Jiang Chen did not dare take such a risk.

He had to continue deepening his exchanges with this fox demon in simulated scenarios. Only after truly understanding her would he dare take things further in reality.

"If it truly is destiny, we will meet again."

Leaving those words behind, Jiang Chen strode down the mountain and departed the Azure Mist Sect without looking back.

Liu Ruyan was left behind. With a wave of her hand, she added an illusionary restriction to the Burial Ground.

Holding her cheeks in both hands, she watched Jiang Chen's back vanish into the night and murmured,

"Sometimes strong, sometimes weak, sometimes bold, sometimes timid... The destiny I waited three thousand years for is truly adorable!"

"Fortunately, you left the Azure Mist Sect in time..."

"As long as you are not one of Liyue's people."

After leaving the Azure Mist Sect, Jiang Chen flew low on his sword through the desolate mountains. Once he reached the desert, he switched to high-altitude sword flight and headed straight for Xiyang City.

This journey made Jiang Chen feel like a bird soaring into the heavens, a fish entering the sea. He was no longer bound by anything.

Once he reached an uninhabited region, he took stock of his spoils.

Storage Ring ×1

Heavenly Demon Sect Demon Shrine ×1

Disciple Sword ×1

Low-Grade Spirit Stones ×36

Spirit-Healing Pill ×5

Spirit-Nurturing Pill ×7

Breath-Hiding Pill ×12

High-Grade Hedgehog Armor ×1

Jiang Chen thought that the Demon Shrine and Breath-Hiding Pills proved that the man really had been a Demon Sect spy. Killing him hadn't been a loss.

The remaining pills and equipment were similar to the ones Liu Ruyan had given him, all common supplies for Qi Refining cultivators.

Together, they were worth quite a bit of money, enough for him to settle down comfortably in Xiyang City for some time.

Day broke.

Jiang Chen finally arrived at the capital of Fireburn Kingdom—

Xiyang City.

During his first year after transmigrating, Jiang Chen had been making glass in Guli, a small border town. Hardly any cultivators settled in such towns, so they were called mortal cities.

Xiyang City, where tens of millions of cultivators lived, was Fireburn Kingdom's only immortal city.

When he entered the city, dawn had only just begun. Faint lantern light mingled with the pale white of daybreak and the first rosy clouds.

Morning was the busiest time for the major flying docks, and an endless stream of traffic passed through the skies above Xiyang City.

Flying beasts and aerial artifacts of all sizes converged from the half-lit sky, trailing dimly glowing tail flames as they slowly descended toward the various flying docks.

At the same time, those who had stayed up through the night left Xiyang City on flying swords, riding spirit beasts, or seated in flying carriages.

The nobles who had spent the entire night feasting and singing returned to the royal city in the morning to handle official duties. Sect disciples and wandering cultivators arriving from elsewhere entered the city to catch the morning market. Only the immortal maidens and carefree wanderers continued their songs and dances, their wine never ceasing.

It was Jiang Chen's first time witnessing the grandeur of an immortal city, and he was deeply shaken.

Unlike the red windows, green tiles, carved beams, and painted rafters of the Song and Ming-style architecture in Jiang Chen's memory, where people seemed determined to build a temple inside a snail shell, Xiyang City's buildings were simple yet majestic. Their eaves stretched far like wings, their bracket sets were bold and powerful, and their floating lights extended like dragons, giving the city an elegant, unrestrained, and magnificent air.

Commerce in Xiyang City was extraordinarily prosperous. Xiyang Avenue, more than a hundred zhang wide, teemed with people, carts, and horses.

Although most pedestrians were mortals, there were also large numbers of sect disciples, wandering cultivators, nobles, and people from all walks of life.

Clerks from spirit artifact shops shouted their wares in the streets, using dazzling spell seals and radiant magical displays to advertise all manner of promotions and discounts.

Flickering lights swayed from the taverns atop the inn lofts. The laughter of customers and singing girls drifted down faintly, along with the refreshing aroma of spirit wine.

Shouts of surprise rang out beyond the auction houses as people discussed the bids. Every completed sale made the bronze bell on the roof ring once, its pleasant immortal chime echoing throughout the city.

There were also peddlers and laborers setting up street stalls by the roadside.

There were wandering cultivators selling spirit-grown crops, swindlers hawking fake qi-condensing pills made from dog skin, craftsmen applying magical film to spirit swords and artifacts, fortune-telling immortals dressed as secluded masters, and storytellers recounting royal anecdotes...

Jiang Chen walked through the vast crowd, feeling the lively, enchanting atmosphere of mortal life mixed with immortal energy. It felt as though he had crossed through time and space.

For now, he needed to find a place to stay.

This was an immortal city. His cultivation at Qi Refining, Third Layer was not worth concealing, and since the Azure Mist Sect was a major sect with many disciples in Xiyang City, there was no need to change clothes either.

After considering it, he decided against staying at an inn, where trouble would be easy to attract. Instead, he found a guesthouse in the outskirts.

Spirit Spring Inn.

It was a cultivation inn with a proper license, complete with cultivation formations, specifically serving cultivators.

Although the formation's spirit-gathering concentration was not as good as Tranquil Heart Peak's, it was still far better than Stubborn Stone Peak's, and it even had hot springs for recuperation.

The guesthouse owners were an old man and an old woman, making trouble unlikely.

Jiang Chen only booked three days. The price was not low—three spirit stones.

The old man was short, with a round face, a red nose, and a body reeking of alcohol. It was impossible to tell that he had Foundation Establishment cultivation.

When he saw Jiang Chen wearing the blue robes of an Azure Mist Sect disciple, the old man felt especially cordial.

"Judging by your blue robe, young friend, are you a disciple of the Azure Mist Sect?"

Jiang Chen nodded.

"That's right."

"I was once a disciple of Renqi Peak in the inner sect. Which peak are you from, young friend?"

"A disciple of Tranquil Heart Peak."

"Tranquil Heart Peak... Speaking of which, is that wheat-growing genius, Chen Gongxing, still in the Azure Mist Sect after all these years?"

Jiang Chen was slightly startled. He had not expected Steward Chen to be so famous.

"He is. He is a steward now."

"What is his cultivation level?"

"Foundation Establishment Peak."

The old man's face filled with shock, and more than half his drunkenness vanished.

"How is that possible? Back then, Junior Brother Chen was already at Foundation Establishment Peak. With his talent, how could he still have failed to form a Nascent Soul after a hundred years?"