Laughably Absurd

Just as Ye Wan had expected, Chen Fan was indeed living carefree in his room. Lying on his bed, he flipped through the more advanced poison-making arts in the Treasure Record. With the materials he had brought back this time, he should be able to refine some even more potent pills. Thinking of those wicked experiments, with two snakes crawling all over him, Chen Fan felt that he truly looked like some great devil.

A great devil and a little deviless? No wonder the two of them always stirred up trouble whenever they were together. He wondered how things were going in the inner court now. Chen Fan was somewhat worried as well, but dawn had already come, and no one had come looking for him. It seemed the matter had passed safely after all?

Two days later, Chen Fan had already refined several pills from the materials he had obtained. According to the Treasure Record, these pills were all extremely poisonous. However, it was his first time using such high-grade materials to make poison, and his control over the heat was still lacking. He had no idea how effective they would be.

He held one pill in his hand and sniffed it. It smelled somewhat rotten. It seemed he had still failed a little. Once a superior poison was refined, its scent would generally be contained within and would not leak out. Just imagine it: if the victim detected such a foul smell, how could the poisoning possibly succeed?

But he could not simply waste poison pills that he had worked so hard to make. At that moment, Eastern Evil and Western Poison slithered over as well, their noses pressed close to the pill. Then they suddenly looked at Chen Fan with immense excitement, hissing loudly.

The meaning was obvious: if you did not want it, give it to us. The two of them were quite well-behaved and would not snatch it by force. Only after Chen Fan gave permission would they take a bite. Chen Fan thought for a moment, tossed out the pill, and the two snakes pounced forward and gnawed it clean.

After that, Chen Fan tested the other pills one by one. He gave Eastern Evil and Western Poison some that he judged to be poorly made, but he did not dare feed them too much. On the one hand, it would make their palates too picky; on the other, the raw materials for these poison pills were of extremely high quality, and he feared they might burst from overeating.

Afterward, Chen Fan took out several more, intending to test them on himself. Yet he had his concerns. The potency of these poisons far surpassed those he had taken before, while his cultivation had instead regressed. This was far too risky. After a brief consideration, he decided to forget it. He would first find some ordinary materials and make a few low-grade poisons.

Another two days passed. Chen Fan had finished taking all the poisons he had made with ordinary materials, naturally coordinating them with cultivation, just as he had when breaking through a realm. Yet to his surprise, this time his cultivation had not risen greatly. The effects were merely equivalent to sitting in meditation and cultivating normally. This left him utterly baffled. Could it be that his unusual talent was no longer working?

He had actually faintly felt for some time that, ever since returning from his travels down the mountain, it seemed as though something within him was missing. Previously, he had believed it was simply due to the decline of his Internal Qi realm. But now, it appeared there might be a deeper change. Could it have something to do with that night with Wan'er? Or perhaps it was an aftereffect of bloodletting? Or perhaps, just as the rumors said, his fallen cultivation had left behind a knot in his heart—the more desperately he tried to cultivate it back, the less he could advance.

Forget it. He would not think about it for now. Chen Fan simply stopped cultivating Internal Qi. With the Soul Reaper Sword now in hand, he might as well diligently cultivate External Force. In a year, he should be able to reach around the third level. In any case, as long as his swordsmanship was good enough, entering the inner court would not be a problem.

Ever since Eastern Evil and Western Poison had eaten some pills two days ago, they had fallen into slumber. They probably needed time to digest the energy within those poisons. Once they awakened, their strength should rise greatly as well.

With nothing else he wanted to do at the moment, Chen Fan prepared to seek out Murong Zhu and the others. Though it was not yet the monthly day for outer court sparring, they should be willing to practice swords with him, right? Little did he know that Murong Zhu's group had long since stopped wanting to fight him. Every time they claimed it was merely a friendly spar, they ended up breaking out in cold sweat.

He wandered through the various outer court areas. He first went to Murong Zhu's residence, only to find that Murong Zhu was absent. Nor did he see any of the other people he knew. They had probably formed groups to travel down the mountain or returned to their Lineages. The matter of the missing children had spread like wildfire, and the nobles and great Aristocratic Clans in the mortal world to which they belonged were all prominent local families. It was perfectly normal for them to return and check on the situation. When he passed the martial arts ground, it was completely empty. The outer court disciples truly trained as if paddling the waters and merely showing up for appearances. None of the outer court elders were around either. No one even knew where the teachers had run off to, so who had time to care about the disciples?

Then he would just practice by himself. He took out the Soul Reaper Sword, but did not draw it from its sheath. It had indeed been a long time since he had used swordsmanship. Practice made perfect, after all. He still needed to go through the motions.

At that moment, within the vast outer court martial arts ground, a young disciple held an unsheathed treasured sword. His body moved like a swimming dragon, his steps light and agile as he performed sword forms. At times he bent low at the waist; at times he half-squatted and arched his upper body backward; at times he spun through the air in a circle before flipping backward in midair. Meanwhile, streak after streak of sword light shot continuously from his hand.

Suddenly, while Chen Fan was practicing his swordsmanship, a figure entered the martial arts ground. This person had arrived swiftly and without the slightest warning. Chen Fan was wholly immersed in his sword forms and had not spared any attention to sensing his surroundings. He had no idea someone was already approaching him.

With a clang, just as Chen Fan thrust out his sword, he discovered a streak of Sword Qi slashing toward him head-on, colliding directly with his sword. Following the direction of his thrust, he saw that it was also an unsheathed treasured sword. Yet it was obvious that the materials used to forge that person's scabbard might have been better than those used for his entire sword. The scabbard of that treasured sword gleamed all over, engraved with exquisite and meticulous patterns. Red glazed gemstones adorned and studded its surface, while small spirit-infused ores also seemed to have been embedded into the scabbard.

My heavens! This scabbard is far too luxurious. I probably could not even use those materials to forge a sword of my own. Looking again at the hilt, he could only tell that it was red, seemingly flowing with a treasured radiance. With Chen Fan's knowledge, he could not determine what material it was made from at all.

Then he saw clearly the jade-like hand gripping the hilt. It belonged to a woman.

At that moment, Chen Fan withdrew his sword form, and his treasured sword lowered lightly with it. He held the scabbard in his hand, no longer pointing it forward. He also saw the woman's appearance clearly. She was dignified and elegant, brimming with noble grace, and her features were flawless. Calling her beauty capable of toppling a kingdom would not have been an exaggeration. Only, she looked somewhat older, perhaps close to forty.

Chen Fan was deeply puzzled and slightly stunned. Who was this person? He had never seen her in the outer court before, and she seemed far from weak. But she probably bore him no ill will. Otherwise, he would likely already be dead.

Seeing Chen Fan standing there in a daze, the woman smiled. "What is it? Keep going. How can you practice swordsmanship without an opponent?"

Chen Fan was even more bewildered. Had this woman seen him practicing alone and come to accompany him? She was clearly far stronger than he was, so why would she practice swords with him? They did not know each other at all, and there was nothing in it for her. Could she have been so bored after eating her fill?

"This junior would not dare practice swords with Senior. Senior's sword is clearly extraordinary in quality. I wonder what it is truly like inside?" Chen Fan casually laughed it off.

"Hehe, you are not qualified to witness this sword yet," the woman said coldly and proudly. Then, with a sudden flick of her hand, the treasured sword attacked Chen Fan again, still sheathed. "Take my sword!"

Chen Fan was startled. What kind of person was she? She had not even finished speaking before she wanted to fight again? There was no time to think further. Left with no choice, Chen Fan swung out sword light to resist. Yet he discovered that the force of her sword momentum was far too fierce for him to contend against. He could only retreat again and again, barely managing to evade it.

"I do not draw my sword, and you do not draw yours? Who do you think you are?" the woman mocked.

"I do not wish to fight you, so why should I draw my sword?" Chen Fan was somewhat angered now and no longer cared about etiquette or rank. "My sword does not leave its sheath in ordinary times. Once it does, it claims a life with Soul Reaper."

Seeing Chen Fan say this with such complete seriousness, the woman suddenly burst into laughter. "Do you really think you are a Heaven-Shattering Realm expert? It does not leave its sheath, but once it does, it claims a life? That is laughably absurd."

She immediately thrust out another strike. This time, her sword move was incomparably fast, leaving Chen Fan no time to react. Yet it seemed the woman had done so deliberately. Her Sword Qi did not slash toward any part of Chen Fan's body. Instead, it struck the scabbard of his Soul Reaper Sword with perfect precision. With a crash, the already battered scabbard shattered directly, turning to ash in an instant and revealing the blade within.

"Well? Now the sword has left its sheath. Were you not going to use Soul Reaper? Come on!" The woman wore the expression of someone whose scheme had succeeded.

Chen Fan merely frowned slightly. Then he lifted his sword, ignored the woman, and headed back toward his residence without even turning his head. At that moment, he felt humiliated, though he was not overly furious. After all, his strength truly was lacking.

"Wait, do not leave!" The woman seemed to feel that she had indeed gone too far just now and hurriedly called out.

"What? Does Senior have any further instructions?" Chen Fan asked as he turned back, his tone icy and entirely fearless.

The woman was briefly stunned, then gave a soft laugh. "Young people these days truly have more character than the last."

Chen Fan pondered her words. This woman was certainly implying something. He looked at her, seeming to realize something, and his attitude could not help becoming more respectful. "What does Senior mean by that?"

"You are Chen Fan, right? You truly are rather interesting." The woman looked at Chen Fan with a trace of amusement on her face.

Chen Fan was even more puzzled. "How does Senior know this junior? Did Senior come here specifically to find this junior?"

The woman lightly waved a hand to indicate that he need not hurry. "This is not a place to talk. Come with me." Before her words had even faded, she did not wait for Chen Fan to agree. She directly swept out her hand, and a powerful gale wrapped around him.

In the next instant, Chen Fan found himself in the sky, with the woman beside him. The two of them traveled as if riding clouds and mist, seemingly heading deeper toward a mountain peak in a display of Cloud Soaring.

After a moment, Chen Fan landed on the ground. He was shocked beyond measure. Throughout the journey, he had not used the slightest bit of Internal Qi. Although they had traveled at tremendous speed, he had not needed to worry at all about falling from the sky.

Before he could make another response, the woman directly walked toward a palace and left behind a single sentence. "Follow me."

What choice did Chen Fan have now? He obediently followed after her.

The two entered the palace. As Chen Fan stepped inside, he saw three characters written on the plaque: Cloudsea Pavilion. He scratched his head. He did not seem to know this place either, though it appeared very prestigious.

After entering the palace, the woman showed no intention of taking Chen Fan on a tour. She simply turned around, closed the doors from afar, and looked at him.

Chen Fan now did not dare speak or move carelessly. He stood ramrod straight, eyes on his nose, nose on his heart.

"What is it? Were you not quite proud just now?" The woman found Chen Fan's appearance amusing.

"I would not dare. Earlier, I did not know Senior's identity and committed many offenses. Please forgive me!" Chen Fan bowed respectfully.

"You did not offend me. Clearly, I was the one who offended you and even ruined your belongings. I preferred your previous attitude." The woman did not seem to care. "It seems you already know my identity?"

"This junior only knows that Senior is a person of exalted status." Having realized this, Chen Fan began to worry. "May I ask what instructions Senior has for this junior?"

"I can see that you are not stupid. Why not take a guess?" This woman seemed to be too lonely in her daily life; she was becoming addicted to toying with people.

Chen Fan's heart beat like a drum. He guessed it was likely related to the Hundred Herbs Garden incident from a few days ago, but he did not dare say so openly. What should he do?

"A few days ago, this junior accidentally entered a sect forbidden ground. I beg Senior's forgiveness. If Senior wishes to punish this junior, this junior will have no complaints." Chen Fan took a roundabout route to save the situation. If she had truly come for that matter, she likely already knew all about him. If she had come for something else, she probably would not care about that incident. It was likely something even more important.

"You brat, you truly are cunning to the extreme! No wonder..." The woman stopped halfway through, suddenly realizing something was wrong. She gave two dry coughs and said, "Enough, I will not beat around the bush with you. Earlier, I heard people from the inner court mention you. I was a little curious, so I came to take a look. As expected, you do have some ability."

Chen Fan understood now. She had indeed come because of the Hundred Herbs Garden incident.

The woman narrowed her eyes and examined Chen Fan again. "Oh? I did not expect you were previously at the third level? Then it is even less surprising." Yet she was not overly astonished. Since he was someone those two had taken notice of, it would have been stranger if he had no unusual qualities at all.

Hearing this, Chen Fan inwardly sighed again at the woman's vast abilities. Before her, he had no secrets whatsoever.