The Honored Arrival

Wu Xu nodded repeatedly, looking as though it was exactly as he had expected. His face was wreathed in smiles; he increasingly felt that recruiting Chen Fan into the sect back then had been one of the greatest strokes of his life. When the two reached the main mountain gate, Wu Xu reported their identities to the disciples on guard and smoothly brought Chen Fan into the sect. To prevent 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 explicit 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 him farewell, Wu Xu hurried off toward the inner court.

The moment he returned to his room, Chen Fan felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted. This trip down the mountain had come to a satisfactory end. The journey had been fraught with danger at every turn, and upon returning, he had even been set up by fellow disciples. Fortunately, it had all been a false alarm, and he had made it through safely.

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Fan patted his back. The two snakes immediately returned to their original sizes. He then tossed some pills and herbs to one side and dismissed the two little creatures, while he himself sat down cross-legged and entered meditation.

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

However, after fighting Bai Shuang with all his strength down the mountain, that sensation had grown stronger and stronger, almost impossible to suppress. Now that he had returned to his room, Chen Fan immediately began cultivating without pause.

As the Golden Wheel Scripture circulated continuously, Chen Fan felt the Origin Qi throughout his body growing rich and abundant. Both the purity and total amount of Origin Qi in his dantian rapidly increased. The feeling was practically like ascending to heaven in a single step, as if 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 rising.

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 bursting with blood and qi. His body continued absorbing the Origin Qi of heaven and earth, and for a time, he was actually unable to stop the circulating technique. Moreover, he gradually discovered that his body was bearing far too much energy. An intense swelling pain began beneath his skin, his blood vessels bulged, his heartbeat accelerated without end, and his breathing became rapid.

I'm done for! Am I about to explode? Chen Fan's Internal Qi cultivation had already neared the peak of the third level, but he felt no joy whatsoever. Instead, panic began to seize him. There was simply no cultivation method in this world that could achieve everything in one stroke. That meant something had to have gone wrong somewhere. His physique had always been a freakish anomaly to begin with—there was no way to judge it at all.

As the swelling inside his body grew increasingly intense, Chen Fan began to despair. Miserable cries kept escaping his mouth. Eastern Evil and Western Poison were startled into coming over, but the two snakes clearly could not help at all. Blood had begun seeping from the corners of Chen Fan's mouth, and his eyes were turning redder and redder. It seemed as though he would burst apart and die the very next moment.

At that critical moment, Chen Fan flipped his sleeve, and a short, sharp dagger appeared in his hand. He slashed directly at the wrist of his other hand. In an instant, blood sprayed out. As blood continuously poured forth, Chen Fan felt the swelling within his body gradually ease. Seeing that this method worked, he felt slightly relieved and continued bleeding himself while attempting to stabilize his cultivation. It had to be said that the strangeness of his cultivation method probably surpassed even that mysterious cultivator's.

No matter what, any method that kept him alive was a good method. Once he had let out nearly enough blood, Chen Fan tapped the wound with a finger, and it immediately healed. Since the total amount of blood he had lost was not too great, he was only slightly weak. His cultivation no longer rose, and all the discomfort within his body had faded away. Chen Fan let out a great sigh of relief and lay down to sleep.

He did not know how much time had passed before Chen Fan slowly woke up. Looking at the two wounds on his wrists, he thought, Well, now they're perfectly symmetrical. He carefully sensed the condition inside his body again and found no abnormalities whatsoever. Only his cultivation had returned to the peak of the second level, much like when he had first entered the sect. Chen Fan felt rather helpless. After going in circles for a year and a half, he had ultimately made no progress at all. Still, his other two types of techniques had improved considerably.

Furthermore, through this cultivation experience, combined with the time he had saved Ye Yun by bleeding himself, Chen Fan gained a deeper understanding of his physique. Whenever his blood and qi were depleted, his cultivation would fall along with them, and it was an irreversible process. It would not recover as his body recovered, nor could it be restored through ordinary meditation. He could only cultivate his realm anew. In other words, compared to ordinary cultivators, the blood in his body was far more important to him. From now on, he absolutely could not waste 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 sorted out these thoughts, Chen Fan's mood brightened. After all, he had gained quite a lot 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, his investigation down the mountain had also uncovered important information about the organization in black, and he had eliminated the person who had poisoned Wan'er in Blackrock City.

Chen Fan seemed to recall something and looked toward the ground beside him. The place where a large pool of his blood had once remained was now completely dry, leaving only faint bloodstains. What? He looked around at the surrounding floor and discovered that Eastern Evil and Western Poison were staring at him while hissing away. Fuck! Don't tell me these two idiots drank my blood? Chen Fan's hair stood on end, and he felt thoroughly disgusted. Still, what could he do now that they had already drunk it? However, the things contained within his blood were probably beneficial rather than harmful to them.

Chen Fan suddenly thought of Yun Zhongjun and was about to leave to learn about the situation in the inner court when there came a light knock at his door.

Who could it be? Wan'er? Or Qin Ziyan? It had to be said that Chen Fan was indeed blinded by lust. His body had only just recovered somewhat, yet women had already begun filling his mind.

He gave Eastern Evil and Western Poison a meaningful look. Little East immediately tensed up and transformed into an unremarkable Snake Staff leaning against the corner wall. Little West directly shrank in size and coiled once around the Snake Staff that Little East had become. Both instantly became motionless. Chen Fan had given them these instructions long ago. Under ordinary circumstances, unless they were alone with Chen Fan in a private setting, the two rarely revealed their original forms.

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, Deputy—" Before Chen Fan could finish, the visitor shoved him back into the room and entered after him, closing the door behind her. Chen Fan was still standing there in a daze.

"What's wrong? Am I not the person you were waiting for?" the woman said with a soft laugh.

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

"Hmph. It seems you know my identity already." Liu Wushuang did not like wasting words. "If this matter were not so confidential that too many people could not know of it, I would not have needed to come here personally. The outer sect is no small place. Fortunately, some of the Fire Spirit Sword's aura remained on its sheath, or I would have had to spend more effort."

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

"May I ask what orders the Deputy Sect Master has for me?" Chen Fan asked respectfully. Before this woman, he did not dare play even the slightest trick.

Liu Wushuang did not rush to speak. She looked around the room, and when her gaze fell upon the Snake Staff in the corner, her eyes paused slightly for a moment. However, she merely smiled and paid it no mind. At last, she slowly walked to the bedside and sat down directly.

This Deputy Sect Master was truly casual. Chen Fan did not dare sit and remained standing obediently at her side.

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

"Yes." Chen Fan did not dare delay. He immediately explained everything, from how he had followed the prince to how he had pursued the trail to the cave, recounting the entire sequence of events. In the end, he only said that he had waited for Yun Zhongjun to enter the cave, and when Yun Zhongjun failed to emerge for a long time, he had entered it himself. He also claimed that he had only learned of the Spirit-Drunken Incense from the man in black before his death. Though Liu Wushuang had some grasp of his situation, being poisoned on the spot and waking immediately afterward was still far too shocking. Saying it aloud would inevitably invite unnecessary trouble. However, he did not conceal the matters involving the prince and the Spirit-Mystifying Incense. First, they would be easy to investigate. Second, the Spirit-Mystifying Incense and Spirit-Drunken Incense were not remotely on the same level. Even if Liu Wushuang learned that he was immune to the Spirit-Mystifying Incense, she presumably would not care too much.

"So, you learned quite a few things after all." Liu Wushuang looked coldly at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan inwardly cried out 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 studying Chen Fan. She always felt there were some questionable points in what he had just said, but she could not discern exactly where the problem lay.

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

Chen Fan grew even more nervous. His life rested entirely on the other party's whim and was completely beyond his control. At that moment, he was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Yet Liu Wushuang seemed to have entered Spirit Wandering, her gaze wholly immersed elsewhere. She appeared to be thinking about something. Chen Fan did not dare interrupt her and simply waited quietly at the side. This waiting was an especially agonizing ordeal.

After a moment, Liu Wushuang suddenly let out a long breath, as if her thoughts had been pulled back from somewhere very far away. Then she sighed softly. "One drunken sleep forgets this life; two drunken sleeps forsake three lives; three drunken sleeps bring an end to the mortal world." After saying this, she looked at Chen Fan with a faint smile, her eyes filled with inscrutable meaning.

Chen Fan's body trembled. Had she seen through me? This was the greatest secret on his body. Yet in the next moment, he relaxed. 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 troubled by fellow disciples down the mountain. I have personally dealt with the matter already. 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 froze for a moment, then immediately replied, "Many thanks, Deputy Sect Master. I am ashamed that such a minor matter required the Deputy Sect Master to intervene." He was overjoyed inwardly. Not only had Liu Wushuang not acted against him, she had also resolved one of his greatest concerns. He did not want to live every day beneath the Third Elder's covetous gaze. But what exactly had those lines she spoke meant? Did she suspect him? Or was she worried about Yun Zhongjun being poisoned?

Liu Wushuang flicked her sleeve and snorted. "Enough of those conventional pleasantries. Since you want to thank me, help me with something. Besides, you said before that you would follow my orders."

So it really is because I still have some value to use, Chen Fan thought. It seemed he would become this woman's errand runner from now on. Yes, an errand runner. He did not believe that a low-level cultivator like himself could truly help her with anything.