Long Chen was startled. “Why are you in such a rush? Didn’t you say you wanted to get a drink first?”

A peerless genius like Mo Nian was fated to be lonely. The feeling of being peerless was not as great as everyone thought.

Within the same generation, it was almost impossible to have a single good friend. That kind of feeling was not a pleasant one.

Both chickens and eagles grow up from being chicks. But as time passes, the eagle is destined to spread its wings and soar into the sky.

That was why although he had been extremely unwilling, he had had no choice but to leave behind Shi Feng, fatty Yu, Shou Hou, and the others back in Phoenix Cry. They were destined to not be able to stay together forever.

Cultivation was a path of no retreat. Once you stepped onto that path, you had no choice but to continue advancing. There was no chance to turn back.

But if you could have a couple of genuine brothers with you on this path, then it would definitely be much more enjoyable.

However, such people were really just too hard to find. If the only ones beside Long Chen were weaklings, there was no way he could take care of them forever.

Once danger appeared, Long Chen wouldn’t be able to protect them all of the time. He would only be able to watch as they unwillingly died one by one. That kind of feeling was too painful.

That was why Long Chen would normally act so frivolous and juvenile, acting as if he didn’t have a care in the world. But in reality, Long Chen was somewhat afraid to care too much. He was afraid to see those close to him die.

Mo Nian was the only person he had encountered so far who could stand high above his peers as well. And at the end, Mo Nian had even taken out his precious treasure to block that terrifying hand, saving his life.

Long Chen really did want to make friends with Mo Nian. So seeing that he wanted to leave so quickly definitely saddened him.

Mo Nian laughed, “Those old fellows always scolded me for not living up to their expectations. They said if I didn’t properly cultivate, I’d be thrown behind sooner or later by others.

“In reality, I have never accepted that. Back when I was just ten, I secretly ran off and eliminated a whole bandit stronghold.

“By myself, I killed over three hundred bandits. Back then, I was only at the ninth Heavenstage of Qi Condensation. And yet I was able to kill those Blood Condensation bandits as easily as slaughtering chickens.

“From then on, whenever they scolded me, I would always be so incredibly infuriated that I would run off to act as some wandering knight. I’ve definitely run into a few dangerous situations.

“However, I have never met a single person in the same realm who could block more than three of my arrows. Now that I’ve met you and Yin Luo, I definitely feel a sense of crisis from the two of you.

“That’s especially true of you, Long Chen. You really are a monster. Although you had your comrade’s assistance at the end, your potential really is absolutely limitless. Even I’m afraid of it.

“I’ve received many benefits from this battle. When I get back, I will enter seclusion so that I won’t get thrown off by you.”

Everyone was startled. Mo Nian, who was incredibly powerful, was actually feeling a great deal of pressure from Long Chen.

Mo Nian was so powerful that he had shocked everyone. All alone, he had been able to fight against Yin Luo, a once-in-a-thousand-year genius from the Corrupt path.

Long Chen nodded. He understood what Mo Nian meant. After experiencing such a large battle, he had naturally gained some insights.

If he then went into seclusion to consolidate those insights, that would be extremely beneficial to his future. He definitely couldn’t miss this golden period.

“Long Chen, you are definitely now one of my, Mo Nian’s, good friends. If you have time, come to Qing Prefecture to find me. Anyone will be able to tell you where to find my Mo Gate.”

But after he said that, he then realized that it was a bit unsuitable and added, “However, I’d advise you not to come now. The Jiuli secret realm will open soon. Your Su Prefecture also has an entrance, and you’ll definitely have to attend. You are definitely powerful, but at that time, all seven prefectures’ top geniuses will gather. Countless Righteous and Corrupt disciples will be present. With your current cultivation base, you’ll definitely end up suffering. You should hurry and break through to Tendon Transformation.”

Long Chen was slightly surprised. He had heard of the Jiuli secret realm, and it seemed like a very mysterious existence. He hadn’t expected Mo Nian to know about it as well.

Seven prefectures’ experts would all participate in the opening of the Jiuli secret realm? Long Chen didn’t even know what kind of concept a prefecture was, but he could guess that a single prefecture must span a frighteningly large area of land.

Long Chen bitterly smiled, “I’ll do my best.”

Of course, he wanted to break through to Tendon Transformation. But he sensed that for some unknown reason, he was currently at a complete bottleneck.

That bottleneck kept him completely locked at Blood Condensation. And most irritating of all, he had no idea what this bottleneck was from or how to break through it.

Long Chen simply knew too little about the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. He would need to grope around its mysteries to advance faster.

“That Yin Luo is incredibly terrifying. The most terrifying part about him isn’t his talent, but how ruthless the Corrupt path has been.

“I suspect that his sect sacrificed one of their own Xiantian experts for him. They transplanted that Xiantian expert’s Xiantian essence blood into his body.

“Due to the limits of his cultivation base, he can only use a trace of that Xiantian essence blood’s energy. Furthermore, based on what I saw, he should have only just gained that essence blood and so his control over it is still extremely low.

“But with a bit more time, his cultivation base will grow higher and he’ll grow more familiar with his Xiantian essence blood. That will be when he is most terrifying.

“Don’t think that because you severed a leg that he won’t be able to enter Bone Forging. His body will easily recover with the assistance of spirit pills.

“If we don’t take advantage of our time to cultivate, then once we encounter him in the Jiuli secret realm, we’ll be the ones to die.”

Mo Nian’s voice was extremely grave. His words caused all of them, even Tu Fang, to have their hearts pound wildly.

They had sacrificed a Xiantian expert for a genius? That was incredibly ruthless. Most likely only the Corrupt path would be able to do that.

Even Tu Fang, who was at the peak of Meridian Opening, was only able to slightly sense the natural energy, let alone use it for his own purposes.

That was because his body had yet to take that final step, transforming from Houtian to Xiantian. He, along with everyone else present, was rejected from doing so by heaven and earth.

Xiantian experts were practically gods in the eyes of these people. But for a single disciple, the Corrupt path had sacrificed such a god-like existence. That caused everyone to feel a chill.

At the same time, their terror of Yin Luo increased even further. He had yet to even refine his Xiantian essence blood, but he was already so powerful. Once he became used to the Xiantian essence blood in his body, would there still be someone capable of subduing him?

Even Long Chen felt a great deal of pressure. The only reason he had been able to fight on the same level as Mo Nian and Yin Luo this time was because of Chu Yao.

Without her sharing her spiritual qi with him, Long Chen would have already died to that Corrupt Elder, let alone Yin Luo.

“I’m going to go now. Let’s meet again in the Jiuli secret realm. We’ll have a proper drink then.”

Mo Nian took out a jade tablet. That jade tile was also made of white jade and emitted a spiritual fluctuation.

Seeing Long Chen staring intently at his jade tablet, Mo Nian thought that he had never seen such a magical trick, and so he laughed, “This jade tablet is called a teleportation jade. A Xiantian expert used their Spiritual Strength to carve extremely powerful runes inside it. Once activated, it will be able to open a teleportation portal for a short period of time for long distance travel.

“Due to the powerful Spiritual Strength within the teleportation jade, not only can it be used to open a teleportation portal, but it also has a spiritual calming effect, allowing people to quickly enter a meditative state. So, its other name is Soul Calming Jade. All large sects have it.

“But this little plaything is somewhat precious, and so some stingy fellows aren’t willing to give them out.”

After speaking, Mo Nian inserted his Spiritual Strength into the jade tablet. The jade lit up with brilliant light, opening a spatial door in midair.

That door was over thirty meters tall and semi-translucent. Runes densely covered it, and it almost looked like a solid door.

“Goodbye!” Mo Nian said a single goodbye to Long Chen before stepping into the spatial door, completely disappearing.

Once Mo Nian faded away, the spatial door also faded. Long Chen’s heart was pounding wildly.

He stealthily clenched his own jade pendant that his parents had left for him. It was his only clue to unraveling the mysteries around his origin.

Tightly clenching that jade pendant, he sensed that as long as he inserted his Spiritual Strength into it, he would immediately be able to find out the truth.

But Long Chen still remembered that huge river that had been cut open by a single expert’s slash. According to his current understanding, only an expert at the Xiantian realm could possibly possess that strength.

Furthermore, that powerful figure had then sacrificed his life, using the Empty Dao Transformation technique to conceal his tracks. Before he had sacrificed himself, he had left behind a single warning for him: if he was unable to stand at the peak of the martial path, then he was not to investigate his origin.

Clenching that jade pendant, Long Chen had an urge to immediately unravel this whole mystery. But there was a voice that came from the depths of his soul that told him if he did activate this jade pendant, he would definitely die.

Only a couple of breaths’ time passed, yet to Long Chen, they felt like years. In the end, he decided to trust his intuition and put away his jade pendant.

“Wan-er, can you help me out? Go bring back the blood left behind by that huge hand,” said Long Chen.

Tang Wan-er was curious, but she nodded, going over to the edge of the battlefield.

Ling Yunzi’s sword had injured that huge hand, causing a large drop of blood to land there.

Watching Tang Wan-er’s figure going into the distance, Chu Yao smiled at Long Chen and winked. “This big sister seems to listen to you closely!”

Long Chen blushed in embarrassment. In the monastery, he normally felt closest to Tang Wan-er, so without even thinking about it, he had called out to her.

“Haha, it’s not like I said anything about it. What are you so red for? What are you collecting that blood for?” Chu Yao reached out to hold Long Chen’s hand, laughing.

“Just to make some nice soup.” Long Chen was relieved that Chu Yao wasn’t actually angry and joked.

“As if anyone would believe that.” Chu Yao rolled her eyes at Long Chen. Since he didn’t want to say, she wouldn’t force it.

That blood wasn’t Xiantian essence blood, but it did contain Xiantian spiritual qi. To most people, that was essentially useless. But as a pill cultivator with Pill Sovereign memories, that blood was a priceless treasure to Long Chen.

After a moment, Tang Wan-er came back with a large jug, half-filled with blood.

Surprisingly, that blood hadn’t dissolved into the earth but had kept the shape of a spherical bead. It had just laid on the ground, releasing a powerful pressure. Long Chen excitedly collected that jug of Xiantian blood.

All of a sudden, Tu Fang’s icy voice rang out:

“We’ve won the battle now, but there’s still one more matter to handle. Who was it that led that Corrupt Elder to Long Chen!”