Led away from the Xiao Family in a hurry by Ge Ye, Chen Xuan's mind was filled with questions.
Why had Ge Ye, who had always been so domineering, shown such a terrified expression?
The Xiao Family was nothing before the Misty Cloud Sect. They could be wiped out with a wave of a hand.
Why had Ge Ye been afraid?
Nalan Yanran was also puzzled.
"Elder Ge, what exactly is wrong with you?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.
"Nothing. Don't ask any more questions." Ge Ye shook his head, unwilling to say more.
When he had seen the tiny golden flames flickering in the Purple-robed Girl's eyes, he had been utterly shocked.
He had to return and report this matter to the Sect Master.
He felt that someone of unusual status was hidden within the Xiao Family.
While at the Xiao Family, Ge Ye had also noticed the Purple-robed Girl.
When the Purple-robed Girl had spoken, none of the Xiao Family's higher-ups had dared to offer the slightest objection. Clearly, they were afraid of offending her.
Anyone capable of making the Xiao Family wary could not have an ordinary identity.
What frightened him most was the feeling that an unseen pair of eyes had been watching him, bringing him an invisible sense of oppression.
That was why Ge Ye had shown such a terrified expression.
Perhaps an extremely powerful being was hidden within the Xiao Family.
As for whether that person was a member of the Xiao Family, it still needed to be investigated.
Since Ge Ye refused to speak, Chen Xuan did not press the matter further.
After leaving the Xiao Family, Ge Ye led them back toward the Misty Cloud Sect.
Chen Xuan and Nalan Yanran rode together in the carriage.
"Senior Sister, can you tell me about what happened between you and Xiao Yan?" Chen Xuan asked, staring curiously into Nalan Yanran's eyes.
Their trip to the Xiao Family to break off the engagement had caught Chen Xuan somewhat by surprise.
What made him even more curious was why Nalan Yanran had been engaged to Xiao Yan in the first place.
Nalan Yanran gave Chen Xuan a faint glance and said, "We were engaged when we were very young. This was the first time I had met him."
Nalan Yanran then told him about the matter between herself and Xiao Yan.
After hearing Nalan Yanran's explanation, Chen Xuan understood why the two had been bound by an engagement.
The matter could be traced back to their grandfathers' generation.
Moreover, Xiao Yan had once had a legendary story of his own.
He began cultivating Qi at four, reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi at ten, and became a Dou Zhe at eleven. His talent had been astonishing.
With such extraordinary talent, Xiao Yan had naturally been highly valued by Old Master Nalan.
Yet in the years that followed, Xiao Yan's strength had not advanced an inch. Instead, it had fallen back to the third stage of Dou Qi.
Over time, he had become Wutan City's famously worthless trash.
After all, he had once shone too brightly. Once he became trash, he became the subject of everyone's idle gossip.
After entering the Misty Cloud Sect, Nalan Yanran had displayed exceptional cultivation talent. She had been valued by the sect and even groomed as its next Sect Master.
Thus, she had always been troubled by the engagement, which eventually led to the Xiao Family engagement-breaking incident.
"Falling from heaven into hell, he really had it rough. He suffered endless ridicule and humiliation, then got his engagement broken off too. How pitiful," Chen Xuan said with a chuckle.
"I did nothing wrong. I just don't like having my fate arranged for me from the moment I was born," Nalan Yanran said angrily. "I will choose my own happiness."
"That's right. I support you," Chen Xuan immediately said. "That kid is trash now. He truly isn't worthy of you. Only I am worthy of you."
"You bastard," Nalan Yanran said angrily.
She felt that Chen Xuan's words made it sound as though she looked down on Xiao Yan.
Though that was indeed what she meant in her heart, having someone expose it made her uncomfortable.
She turned her face away, unwilling to speak with Chen Xuan.
Seeing that Nalan Yanran was angry, Chen Xuan shrugged and could only remain silent.
In any case, he would not shamelessly try to curry favor with Nalan Yanran.
That was not his style, lest people call him a simp.
After traveling for some time, Ge Ye brought Nalan Yanran and the others back to the Misty Cloud Sect.
Chen Xuan returned to his residence.
Over the following days, he stayed within the Misty Cloud Sect and cultivated in peace, hoping to increase his strength as soon as possible and earn the sect's recognition.
Only after gaining the sect's recognition would he have the chance to cultivate more advanced Dou Techniques.
About a month later, Chen Xuan found an excuse to leave the Misty Cloud Sect and returned to the Monster Beast Mountain Range.
He had not returned to the Monster Beast Mountain Range in quite some time. He wondered how many Gold Coins the Amethyst Winged Lion King had obtained.
Now that he was back, Chen Xuan needed to properly inspect the Amethyst Winged Lion King's results.
After returning to the Monster Beast Mountain Range, he went back to the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair.
When it saw Chen Xuan return, the Amethyst Winged Lion King personally came to greet him.
"How did the task I gave you go?" Chen Xuan asked as he sat atop the Amethyst Winged Lion King's back.
"Reporting to Boss, during your absence, I followed your orders and robbed human experts, obtaining quite a few Gold Coins," the Amethyst Winged Lion King said excitedly. "The total came to three hundred thousand Gold Coins."
"Only three hundred thousand Gold Coins? That's far too little," Chen Xuan said gloomily.
With the strength of a Sixth-tier Monster Beast, the Amethyst Winged Lion King should not have obtained so few Gold Coins from robbing human experts.
At the very least, it should have been a million.
"Boss, obtaining three hundred thousand Gold Coins is already quite good," the Amethyst Winged Lion King said with a bitter smile. "Ever since I began robbing human experts, many of them have stopped daring to bring too many Gold Coins into the Monster Beast Mountain Range."
"Besides, I have offended many human experts. Some time ago, I even fought a human Dou Emperor. If I hadn't been strong enough, I would have been killed."
"Furthermore, I don't dare leave the Monster Beast Mountain Range, for fear of attracting the attention of human experts. So I have no way to obtain more Gold Coins."
As a monster beast that had not transformed into human form, the Amethyst Winged Lion King did not dare casually leave the Monster Beast Mountain Range.
Once a monster beast of its level left the Monster Beast Mountain Range, it would certainly attract the attention of human experts and eventually be besieged by them.
"Fine. Three hundred thousand Gold Coins is still not bad," Chen Xuan said, not blaming the Amethyst Winged Lion King any further.
He also understood the Amethyst Winged Lion King's difficulties.
The Gold Coins he had were still far from enough to buy a Form Transformation Pill and a Heavenly Soul Blood Bone Pill.
"I'll teach you a method. From now on, when you encounter human experts, if they don't have any Gold Coins on them, beat them up badly. Or kill a few people to scare them," Chen Xuan suggested. "That way, the human experts should become afraid. When the time comes, they will carry more Gold Coins to save their lives."
"Boss, that's a good method. I can try it," the Amethyst Winged Lion King said, its eyes lighting up as it saw no problem with the idea.
Chen Xuan then asked about the Medicinal Herbs.
Before leaving, he had instructed the Amethyst Winged Lion King to send its underlings to search for Medicinal Herbs and gather them.
But the Amethyst Winged Lion King's answer disappointed Chen Xuan.
The idea of making monster beast underlings search for Medicinal Herbs for him was still unrealistic.
After all, monster beasts would eat any Medicinal Herbs they found themselves. Why would they hand them over?
"Boss, a Sixth-tier Green Flame Python that can spew poisonous fire has appeared in the Monster Beast Mountain Range," the Amethyst Winged Lion King suddenly provided some information. "Don't you like devouring beast fire? This Green Flame Python can provide you with beast fire."
"Where is it? Take me there immediately," Chen Xuan said, instantly intrigued.
"That poisonous snake lives in a valley and rarely comes out," the Amethyst Winged Lion King said. "I fought it once and nearly got burned to death by its poisonous fire."
"You couldn't beat it?" Chen Xuan asked.
"The poisonous fire that snake spews contains potent poison. Its toxicity is too strong, so I didn't dare get close," the Amethyst Winged Lion King said with a bitter smile.
Chen Xuan did not care. He had the Amethyst Winged Lion King lead the way.
If all went smoothly, he could recruit another Sixth-tier Monster Beast underling this time.
Before you continue