Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Going to the Gathering

Chen Ansheng rolled his eyes to himself.

Then he walked out of the room.

“I say, Senior Sister, don’t you worry about being discovered while you drift around every day?”

“What nonsense! Do you think I’m some wandering ghost?”

Chen Ansheng couldn’t be bothered to continue the conversation and asked, “What do you want?”

Zhong Li tilted her head, glancing at him sideways. “What were you up to controlling puppets before?”

Chen Ansheng wore a bored expression. “I’m trapped in this little courtyard and can’t go out, so I had him help me move some things. What kind of bad deeds could I possibly do?”

Zhong Li felt it was somewhat uninteresting, and sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, saying, “Do you know there’s a Jiu Hua gathering in a couple of days?”

Chen Ansheng sat down as well, propping his chin on his hand. “I know. I’ll be attending.”

Zhong Li looked at him with disdain. “Are you hoping for a spot as a disciple of the Xuan Yang Immortal Mansion? Don’t even think about it; you absolutely don’t qualify.”

Chen Ansheng said, “The Xuan Yang Immortal Mansion doesn’t look at qualifications for accepting disciples. How can you be so sure I don’t qualify? Stop beating around the bush and tell me why you’re looking for me.”

Zhong Li’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light. After a few days apart, this guy seemed to have changed quite a bit, but she couldn’t pinpoint how exactly. “I’m only looking for you because there’s a benefit in it!”

Chen Ansheng was disinterested. If there were really benefits, would the Demoness be willing to share them with him? She probably wanted to drag him into something dangerous.

However, to avoid angering the Demoness, Chen Ansheng replied calmly, “Alright, what’s the benefit?”

Zhong Li lowered her voice and said, “On the day of the Jiu Hua gathering, most of the people from Qian Yue Cave will be attending, while some of the senior elders will be welcoming the distinguished guests from the Xuan Yang Immortal Mansion. We can take the opportunity to pull off a big job; what do you think?”

Chen Ansheng shook his head. “I’m just a weak Immortal at the fifth stage; how can I possibly pull off something like that? You’ve got the wrong person.”

Zhong Li coaxed him gently, “I know you’re afraid of danger, but I won’t let you take risks. You just need to control the puppet to keep watch for me.”

Chen Ansheng squinted. “Is it really that simple?”

Zhong Li looked at him as if it were obvious. “Of course! Look at you, acting like a coward, afraid of your own shadow. Are you really thinking I’ll let you handle anything dangerous?”

Chen Ansheng was speechless. The Demoness was too sharp-tongued; he needed to make a note of it for future reference.

To avoid further annoyance from the Demoness, Chen Ansheng reluctantly agreed. “Fine, what’s the time and place?”

Zhong Li grinned. “The day after tomorrow in the afternoon. You just need to have the puppet hide in front of the Library Pavilion. I’ll explain the specifics when the time comes.”

“Okay.” Chen Ansheng still felt no enthusiasm. “But I want to make it clear that if anything goes wrong, don’t drag me into it!”

Zhong Li shot him a glare. “When I was helping you kill someone, I wasn’t afraid of being implicated, was I?”

Chen Ansheng replied, “That’s different; you fell for my trick.”

“Tch. You fool.”

Zhong Li rolled her eyes at him and turned to leave the courtyard.

Chen Ansheng wanted nothing more than to deal with the Demoness right then and there, but unfortunately, his strength was still too weak, and it wasn’t the right time.

After Zhong Li left, Chen Ansheng returned to his small room and sat cross-legged to practice.

Nai Ling Jue, activate!

Blood energy circulated within him at a speed of one hundred and eight turns per breath.

The immortal spiritual energy gathered towards the small room, forming a gust of wind.

“Is this the feeling of a genius? So refreshing!”

The immortal spiritual energy melded into his flesh and blood, meridians, organs, and limbs…

This comfortable sensation, while not quite as good as being bathed in a crystal-clear pool, was still quite close.

The only downside was that it consumed too much mental energy.

Two days passed, and feeling exhausted, Chen Ansheng decided to stop his training.

“My physical condition has greatly improved in such a short time, like a dry cloth being wrung out. Adding in that I reached the genius level of Nai Ling Jue has allowed me to cultivate much faster than others with the same qualifications!”

His two days of training had brought him close to breaking into the sixth stage of Immortal.

Thus, after some analysis, he reached a conclusion.

“This means that if my physical condition improves another level, there’s a chance for rapid growth.”

Chen Ansheng thought this over, feeling anticipatory about stockpiling enough resources to once again enter the crystal-clear pool.

Since the day of the Jiu Hua gathering was tomorrow, and Nan Gong Xiu might send someone to find him at any moment, Chen Ansheng decided not to descend to the lower realms.

The next day, early morning.

Two white-clad disciples were calling for Chen Ansheng outside the courtyard.

Chen Ansheng stepped out but did not immediately remove the barrier, thinking, what if it’s someone sent by Ji Ziling?

Even though Nan Gong Xiu mentioned that she was in closed retreat, who knows if she arranged something ahead of time?

“What do you need?” Chen Ansheng asked.

“Reporting to young master, the Cave Master sent us to escort you to the Jiu Hua gathering.” One of the white-clad disciples appeared respectful, but his eyes revealed a lot of reluctance.

“Do you have proof?” Chen Ansheng asked blandly.

“Yes.” The two white-clad disciples seemed impatient, but they dared not disobey the Cave Master’s order, so they took out a note and showed it to Chen Ansheng: We’ve sent two disciples to invite the young master to the gathering; please do not doubt.

From the handwriting, Chen Ansheng sensed a hint of intentional residue; it must have indeed been written by Nan Gong Xiu.

“Nan Gong Xiu is quite clever, realizing I’d have suspicions.” Chen Ansheng chuckled to himself and then dismissed the barrier.

The two outer disciples sent to fetch him were both at the sixth stage of Immortal. Even if something unexpected happened, Chen Ansheng wasn’t too worried.

After all, he was also close to the sixth stage of Immortal, and he had picked up the forbidden technique sword arts from the lower realms, unlike before when he had no means to retaliate.

“Please.”

The two white-clad disciples were mentally impatient, thinking, it’s just a gathering; why is he acting all suspicious? Is he trying to make it difficult for us? Bah!

Under the guidance of the two disciples, Chen Ansheng stepped out of the Green Bamboo Studio’s confines and once again beheld the blooming scenery.

Soon, a massive flying creature landed before the three of them.

“Please.”

The white-clad disciples couldn’t be bothered with formalities and gestured to Chen Ansheng, indicating he should mount the flying creature.

Chen Ansheng leaped up, channeling a surge of immortal power, and effortlessly leaped over ten feet to land lightly on the creature’s back.

The two outer disciples were momentarily stunned.

They had expected to see Chen Ansheng struggling to climb onto the creature, but to their surprise, he possessed cultivation close to theirs!

“Heh, it must be that the Cave Master is favoring him, giving him elixirs to boost his cultivation.” One disciple transmitted his thoughts disdainfully.

“No wonder the young lady is so furious she wants to kill him. Someone like this old-fashioned rustic, getting by just because he’s related to the Cave Master’s lover, who wouldn’t be angry?” another disciple transmitted.

“Forget it; it’s all fate. We can’t envy him.”

“Tch, who envies him? Living without any shame, he might as well just die.”

Chen Ansheng was unaware of what the two were thinking, but seeing them occasionally sneer at him ignited a bit of anger within him. “Why are you dawdling like lazy donkeys? If Nan Gong Xiu has to wait too long, see if you two can bear the consequences!”

“This…”

The two white-clad disciples didn’t expect this guy would actually get irritable too.