A Distinguished Arrival

Wu Xu nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, wearing an expression of "just as I thought." His face was full of smiles. He increasingly felt that recruiting Chen Fan into the sect back then had been one of the greatest strokes of his life. The two arrived at the main mountain gate. After Wu Xu reported their identities to the disciples on guard, he smoothly brought Chen Fan into the sect. To keep Bai Shuang from stirring up trouble again, Wu Xu simply escorted Chen Fan all the way to the outer sect. Though the outer sect's status within the sect was far inferior to that of the inner court, the sect had clear rules: even inner court disciples were forbidden from causing trouble in the outer sect, or they would face severe punishment.

Thus, Chen Fan finally returned safely to his residence. After bidding Chen Fan farewell, Wu Xu hurried toward the inner court.

The moment he returned to his room, Chen Fan felt as though a great burden had been lifted. This trip down the mountain could be considered a perfect conclusion. The journey had been fraught with danger at every turn, and upon returning, he had even been set up by his fellow sect members. Fortunately, it had all ended without real danger, and he had safely weathered the ordeal.

Chen Fan flicked his wrist, then slapped his back. The two snakes immediately reverted to their original size. He tossed some pills and medicinal herbs beside them, dismissing the two little creatures, while he himself sat down directly and entered meditation.

Ever since he had awakened after inhaling the Spirit-Drunken Incense in that cave, the Origin Qi within his body had faintly carried a restless sensation. Chen Fan felt that it resembled the feeling he had experienced when breaking through a bottleneck before, so it should not have been a bad thing. Thus, he had not paid much attention to it along the way.

Yet after fighting Bai Shuang with his full strength down the mountain, that sensation now became increasingly intense, nearly impossible to suppress. Since he had returned to his room, Chen Fan immediately began circulating his cultivation method without pause.

The Golden Wheel Scripture circulated continuously. Chen Fan felt the Origin Qi throughout his body grow incomparably dense, while both the purity and total quantity of Origin Qi within his dantian rapidly rose. The feeling was practically like ascending to heaven in a single step, as though there were no bottleneck at all between the second and third levels. Could it be because I had already broken through this bottleneck once before? Chen Fan thought. Yet his cultivation did not stop climbing.

After his Internal Qi reached the third level, Chen Fan still felt violent unrest within his body. Origin Qi roamed everywhere through his limbs and bones, while his seven channels and eight meridians were filled to the brim with blood and qi. His body was still continuously absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, and for a moment, he was actually unable to stop the cultivation method from running. Moreover, he gradually realized that the energy his body was bearing had become excessive. A fierce swelling pain began beneath his skin. The veins throughout his body bulged, his heartbeat accelerated without stop, and his breathing became hurried.

I'm done for! Am I going to explode? Chen Fan's Internal Qi cultivation had already neared the peak of the third level, but he felt no joy whatsoever. On the contrary, panic began to seize him. There was simply no cultivation method in this world that could achieve success in one stroke. That meant something must have gone wrong somewhere. His constitution was already bizarre beyond comparison; there was no way to judge it at all.

As the swelling sensation within him grew stronger and stronger, Chen Fan began to despair. Miserable cries continuously escaped his mouth. Eastern Evil and Western Poison were alarmed and came over, but the two snakes clearly could not offer any help. Blood had begun to seep from the corners of Chen Fan's mouth, and his eyes grew increasingly red, as though he would burst apart and die the very next moment.

At this critical juncture, Chen Fan suddenly flipped his sleeve, producing a short, sharp dagger. He directly slashed at the wrist of his other hand. Instantly, blood sprayed out. As blood continued to pour forth, Chen Fan felt the swelling within his body gradually subside. Seeing that this method worked, he felt slightly relieved and continued letting blood while trying to stabilize his cultivation. It had to be said that the strangeness of his cultivation method was likely no less bizarre than that mysterious cultivator's.

No matter what, any method that kept him alive was a good one. Once he had let out enough blood, Chen Fan pressed a finger against the wound, and it immediately closed. Since the overall amount of blood he had lost was not too great, he was only slightly weak at the moment. His cultivation no longer rose, and all the discomfort in his body had faded away. Chen Fan heaved a great sigh of relief, then lay down and fell asleep.

Who knew how much time had passed before Chen Fan slowly awoke. He looked at the two slender scars on each of his wrists. Well, now they were perfectly symmetrical. He carefully sensed the state of his body again and found no abnormalities whatsoever. Only, his cultivation had returned to the peak of the second level, much as it had been when he first entered the sect. Chen Fan felt rather helpless. After going in circles for more than a year, he had merely remained where he started. Still, his other two types of cultivation methods had improved considerably.

Furthermore, through this cultivation experience, combined with how he had saved Ye Yun by letting blood before, Chen Fan gained a deeper understanding of his constitution. As long as his blood and qi drained away, his cultivation would decline along with them, and this was an irreversible process. It would not recover as his body recovered, nor could it be restored through ordinary meditation. He could only cultivate the realm anew. In other words, compared to ordinary cultivators, the blood in his body was far more important to him. In the future, he absolutely could not squander it lightly. Even if he sweated or cried, he could not bleed; even if he was poisoned or beaten, he could not be cut.

Having settled these thoughts, Chen Fan's mood brightened. After all, he had gained quite a bit this time. His cultivation had returned to the peak of the second level, and he had learned the seemingly formidable Soaring Art. On the other hand, this investigation down the mountain had also allowed him to grasp important information regarding the organization of men in black, and he had eliminated the person who had poisoned Wan'er in Blackrock City.

Chen Fan seemed to think of something else and looked at the ground beside him. The large pool of his blood that had been there was now completely dry, leaving behind only faint bloodstains. This...? Chen Fan looked around the floor again and discovered that Eastern Evil and Western Poison were staring at him while hissing excitedly. Damn it! Those two idiots didn't drink my blood, did they? Chen Fan's hair stood on end, and he felt thoroughly disgusted. Forget it, they had already drunk it—what else could he do? Still, the things contained within his blood were probably beneficial rather than harmful to them.

Chen Fan suddenly thought of Lord Yun Zhong's matter and was just about to leave and learn about the situation in the inner court when there came a light knock on his door.

Who could it be? Wan'er? Or Qin Ziyan? It had to be said that Chen Fan truly had lust clouding his mind. His body had only just recovered a little, yet his thoughts had already turned to women.

He gave Eastern Evil and Western Poison a look. Little East immediately tensed up and transformed into an inconspicuous snake staff leaning against the corner of the wall. Little West directly shrank in size, coiling once around the snake staff that Little East had become. Both instantly became motionless. Chen Fan had instructed them about this long ago. Under normal circumstances, except in private settings where only Chen Fan was present, the two of them rarely appeared in their original forms anymore.

Chen Fan walked to the door and opened it. He saw an incomparably beautiful face, but it belonged neither to Wan'er nor Qin Ziyan.

"Ah, Vice—" Before Chen Fan could cry out, the visitor shoved him back into the room. She followed him inside in one smooth motion, then closed the door. Chen Fan was still standing there in a daze.

"What is it? Am I not the person you were waiting for?" the woman asked with a light laugh.

Chen Fan hurriedly replied in alarm, "Vice Sect Master, you jest. I truly never expected the Vice Sect Master to honor this shabby place with your presence."

"Hmph. It seems you know my identity as well." Liu Wushuang did not like wasting words. "If this matter were not too confidential for too many people to know, I would not have needed to come here personally. This outer sect is quite large. Fortunately, some aura remained on the Fire Spirit Sword's sheath, or I would have had to spend a bit more effort."

Chen Fan did not find it strange. With Liu Wushuang's abilities, what was so odd about her finding him directly?

"May I ask what instructions the Vice Sect Master has for coming here?" Chen Fan asked respectfully. Before this woman, he could not play even the slightest trick.

Liu Wushuang was in no hurry to speak. She looked around the room, and when her gaze fell upon the Snake Staff by the wall, her eyes paused for a brief instant. Yet she merely smiled and paid it no heed. Finally, she slowly paced to the bedside and sat down directly.

This Vice Sect Master was certainly casual. Chen Fan, however, did not dare sit. He remained standing at the side, appearing exceedingly well-behaved.

"Tell me. What happened during your trip down the mountain this time? Do not conceal anything. Do you understand?" Liu Wushuang suddenly spoke, her tone brooking no refusal.

"Yes." Chen Fan did not dare be negligent. He immediately recounted how he had followed the prince and tracked the matter all the way to the cave, explaining the entire sequence of events. In the end, he only said that he had entered the cave after waiting for Lord Yun Zhong to go in and not seeing him emerge for a long time, and that he had only learned of the Spirit-Drunken Incense from the dying man in black. Although Liu Wushuang knew a little about his situation, being poisoned on the spot and immediately awakening was simply too shocking. Revealing it would inevitably invite unnecessary trouble. However, he did not conceal the matter regarding the prince and the Spirit-Mystifying Incense. First, it would be easy to investigate and uncover. Second, Spirit-Mystifying Incense and Spirit-Drunken Incense were fundamentally not on the same level. Even if Liu Wushuang learned that he was unaffected by Spirit-Mystifying Incense, she likely would not care much.

"So, you learned quite a few things," Liu Wushuang said coldly as she looked at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan inwardly cried that things were bad. Could this woman be planning to silence me forever? Yet he did not dare make any movement. He merely lowered his head and remained silent.

For a time, the room fell into silence. Liu Wushuang continued scrutinizing Chen Fan. She always felt there were some doubtful points in what he had just said, but she could not detect exactly where the problem lay.

Suddenly, Liu Wushuang noticed two slender scars on each of Chen Fan's wrists, which hung at his sides. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, as though she were pondering something.

Chen Fan grew even more nervous. His life rested entirely on a single thought from the other party, utterly beyond his control. At that moment, he was like a lamb awaiting the slaughter.

Yet Liu Wushuang seemed as though she had entered Spirit Wandering beyond her body. Her eyes were utterly immersed elsewhere, as if she were thinking of something. Chen Fan did not dare disturb her. He could only wait quietly at the side, and this waiting was truly tormenting.

After a while, Liu Wushuang suddenly let out a long breath, as though her thoughts had been pulled back from somewhere far away. Then she sighed softly. "One drunken sleep forgets this life, two drunken sleeps abandon three lives, three drunken sleeps leave the mortal world behind." After saying this, she looked at Chen Fan with a faint smile, her eyes filled with inscrutable meaning.

Chen Fan could not help but shudder. Had she seen through me? This was the greatest secret on his body. Yet in the next moment, Chen Fan relaxed again. So what if she knew? It was better than losing his life. Judging by her manner, she probably would not kill him.

"You originally rendered great merit to the sect by returning this time, yet you were harassed by fellow sect members down the mountain. I have already dealt with that matter personally. It was not much to begin with, so you need not worry about it in the future." Liu Wushuang unexpectedly changed the subject.

Chen Fan was stunned, then immediately replied, "Many thanks, Vice Sect Master. I am truly embarrassed that such a small matter required the Vice Sect Master to intervene." Yet inwardly, he was overjoyed. Liu Wushuang had not only refrained from acting against him, but had also settled one of his greatest concerns. He had no wish to live every day beneath the Third Elder's covetous gaze. But what exactly had those words she spoke earlier meant? Had she become suspicious of him? Or was she worried about Lord Yun Zhong being poisoned?

Liu Wushuang flicked her sleeve and gave a soft snort. "Enough of these stale pleasantries. Since you wish to thank me, help me do something. Besides, you said before that you would obey my instructions."

So it really is because I still have some use to her, Chen Fan thought. It seemed that he would become this woman's errand runner in the future. That was right—an errand runner. He did not believe a low-level cultivator like himself could possibly help her with anything else.