After Chen Chen arrived at the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan, he arranged thousands of cultivators in the Jade Tripod City.

He didn't have a choice this time because he had brought plenty of experts, and the team was too large. There was no way the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan would send so many people there.

​​

Chen Chen returned to the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan alone and soon found his master, Yu Qiong.

When Yu Qiong saw Chen Chen, she took out a storage ring and placed it on Chen Chen's hand solemnly.

"These are pills that are to be sent to the battlefield at the Western Border. There are 5,000 of them, and they're far better than those 1,000 that had been sold to the Boundless Sea. You must be very careful along the way, do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Chen Chen nodded solemnly.

He reckoned that Bai Fan had probably been robbed of his supplies because of a snitch. Hence, the demons must have deduced his route.

However, he and Yu Qiong were the only ones who knew about the transportation of elixirs, so the news about it shouldn't have been leaked.

Hence, he wasn't too flustered. Besides, he would travel with plenty of money on him every single day, and 5,000 elixirs meant nothing to him.

Seeing how serious Chen Chen looked, Yu Qiong nodded slightly and thought about it for a while before suddenly saying, "When you go to the Western Border, don't disgrace me or the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan."

"Also, if that old woman from the Haoran Sword Clan blackmails you on the basis that her disciple is your Dao partner, you must not agree to it. Don't make it seem as if my disciple has to stoop low and be subservient to hers."

Hearing this, Chen Chen was speechless.

'Master is so stingy, she refuses to lose out at all.'

"I remember!"

Chen Chen solemnly promised.

Yu Qiong smiled.

"Good that you understand, go. When you come back, I may have already reached the Void Refinement realm. From now on, you will have a Void Refinement realm master, which puts you at a notch higher than your Dao partner."

"Ahem! Goodbye!"

Seeing that Yu Qiong was focused entirely on comparing with the Haoran Sword Clan, Chen Chen hurriedly left.

Otherwise, Yu Qiong would probably stain his clear, pure heart.

However, he had to admit that Yu Qiong was nice to him.

In the past few days, he presumably speculated that his master-disciple relationship with Yu Qiong was worth 500 Spirit Stones, but he felt like he was projecting his shortcomings on her.

As the saying goes, one is bound to be influenced by those around them.

After being his master for such a long time, Yu Qiong would inevitably be touched by humanity, and it was only normal for her to have become more humane.

Humans tend to influence each other anyway.

...

After leaving the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan, Chen Chen got three huge boats and marched towards the Western Border.

Along the way, he passed by several territories that were occupied by humans so it wasn't that dangerous.

Chen Chen decided to break away from the group after flying for 5,000 kilometers in the giant ships to head to the Western Border.

As for the elixirs, he gave them to Yuan Qingtian for safety purposes. With Yuan Qingtian following closely behind the giant ship, he would be able to ensure that nothing could go wrong.

Seeing that the Western Border was right in front of him, Chen Chen heaved a sigh of relief.

It seemed that the people of the Heavenly Diabolism were not in a hurry to create trouble for him.

He was afraid that the Heavenly Diabolism had learned of his strength after their failure last time and thus, sent a peak Essence Soul realm expert this time.

Peak Essence Soul realm experts and those at the mid-stage of the Essence Soul realm were different.

If he traveled together with a large squad, it would inevitably cause mass casualties during a battle.

However, if he was alone, it might not be impossible for him to escape from a peak Essence Soul realm powerhouse even though it might be difficult to do so.

"How can they just send a peak Essence Soul realm expert for no reason? Seems like I've been thinking too much."

Chen Chen reassured himself a few more times, but he soon flew to the large city where he used to be previously.

The large city was a treasure. However, there were traces of an intense battle on it now.

Chen Shuang scanned with his divine senses in a bid to find traces of Xia Xishuang, but he was blocked by the divine senses.

In the next second, an Essence Soul realm elderly man flew over and stared at Chen Chen warily.

"Who are you? What is your purpose for coming here?"

"I'm Chen Chen, a disciple of the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan. I'm here to send some elixirs," Chen Chen said while taking out his identity token.

The Essence Soul realm old man laughed out loud after seeing the token.

"So you are Chen Chen! I've heard of you, you're Xishuang's Dao partner. The disciples of the clans who returned from the battlefield at Qi and Wei previously have also spoken highly of you. I thought they were just trying to please that girl, but now it seems that you are really impressive!"

Chen Chen was pleased to hear his words.

When he felt pleased, his hands would begin to itch again.

However, his habit of being too generous had acted up again. When he heard others complimenting him from the bottom of their hearts, he would feel an urge to give them treasures.

"Senior, you flatter me. Where are Xishuang and the Saintess of the Haoran Sword Clan now?"

Forcing himself to resist the urge, Chen Chen smiled humbly.

The old man frowned after hearing his words. "They've just fought a hard battle last night. The Haoran Sword Clan has contributed greatly and devoted all its energy to it. They're both resting now, why don't I...go wake them up?"

Chen Chen quickly shook his head and said, "It's alright, I'll just wait."

"Haha, little kid, this is not the place to speak, follow me to the city."

While speaking, the elder gestured for him to enter.

Chen Chen nodded and entered the city.

The city was dark golden, and it was made of some special material.

The city was empty, completely devoid of any buildings. There was only a large tent, and it was obvious that this was a city built purely for fighting.

The old man pointed to the tent in the far corner and said, "Xishuang is resting in that tent but I don't dare to approach because she's very alert. Apart from her master and a few others who are close to her, she will quickly notice anyone who approaches."

"I'll go and take a look."

Chen Chen smiled and slowly walked towards the tent.

Soon, he reached the tent.

He gently lifted the curtain and saw a familiar figure that was lying on her side on a spiritual wood bed. She was dressed in white and holding the Chen Shuang sword in her arms with a few traces of fatigue on her face. She didn't notice Chen Chen's presence at all.

Looking at Xia Xishuang who was fast asleep, Chen Chen felt a little heartbroken.

Nascent Soul realm cultivators generally didn't need much sleep. Even when they were resting, they would meditate.

When they really needed sleep, it would mean that they were completely exhausted, just like Xia Xishuang now.

"Since I have come, I won't go again next time."

Chen Chen said secretly with a genuinely warm smile on his face.

He just needed to take one glance at Xia Xishuang to feel immense bliss. Hence, he could never get enough of looking at her.

If he could... he would continue staring at her forever and even secretly protect that peace.

...

Outside the faraway tent.

The Saintess of the Haoran Sword Clan looked extremely sullen. The old man beside her who brought Chen Chen in seemed a little awkward.

"Junior Brother, are you going to let him in just like that? Xishuang is a girl!"

Hearing this, the old man scratched his head and said, "They're already Dao partners, why are you still so bothered? If Xishuang treats Chen Chen as an outsider, she would have already been awake by now."

The Saintess of the Haoran Sword Clan glared at the elder before cursing softly, "They haven't officially become Dao partners yet! You unruly old man!"

After saying that, she probed with her divine senses in a bid to hear their conversation in the tent.

A moment later, the anger on her face vanished and was replaced by a tinge of melancholy.

With her divine senses, she saw Chen Shuang sitting on the edge of the bed, gazing at Xia Xishuang quietly with one hand on his cheek. He had a gentle expression and wasn't behaving inappropriately.

"Forget it, young people don't have it easy these days, let him be."

After saying those words, she turned around and left.

However, at this moment, a large cloud floated over in the sky from afar. Immediately afterwards, an extremely majestic voice resembling a thunderclap filled the space.

"Human scums, I'm back! Who dares to fight me!?!"

With that loud sound, all the human cultivators were stunned awake as they quickly darted out of their tents.

Only the tent in the corner was wrapped in dense spiritual power that completely blocked out the sounds of the outside world.