Chapter 1: When the father suffers humiliation, the son must avenge him

  "Sir, this is a separate small building, with two floors on the top and bottom, a small courtyard, beautiful scenery, quiet environment, what do you think?"

  Xiao Chen nodded in satisfaction, and was extremely pleased with the residence. After sending the child away, he pushed open the door and walked in.

  The old-fashioned furniture, in the corner of the hall, there are several pots of lush green plants, although they are not rare flowers, but it's also refreshing to look at.

  However, to be on the safe side, Xiao Chen still released his spiritual sense to carefully scan the surroundings, confirming that there was no unusual place. He then took out a talisman from his storage bag and threw it onto the ground, where it flashed with a faint light before disappearing without a trace.

  After doing all this, Xiao Chen nodded in satisfaction, with a few sparks of fervor flashing in his eyes. Now was the time to tally up the harvest.

  He took down the storage bag, and the items clattered to the ground. The numerous spirit stones, spiritual instruments, medicinal pills, and jade slips made Xiao Chen's eyes dazzle, and he couldn't help but feel a few parts of pride in his heart. Probably this wealth was rare even among Golden Dan Realm cultivators.

  Spiritual artifacts, these things are the most valuable. Even the lowest-grade spiritual artifact can be worth hundreds of spirit stones in the market, and mid-grade ones require at least several thousand spirit stones to purchase, and it's still a buyer's market. Xiao Chen carefully counted again, from the beginning until now, he seemed to have obtained more than a dozen storage bags, including four from Golden Dan Realm experts. He had also obtained dozens of spiritual artifacts, including three top-grade ones. Xiao Chen happily put away the lower, middle, and upper-grade artifacts into his storage bag, leaving behind the three top-grade artifacts, preparing to choose one for himself to refine and use.

  The first item was a female magic treasure that resembled a ribbon, which Xiao Chen had experimented with and found to be adjustable in size. It could entangle the enemy's spiritual instrument, and its power was quite impressive, but it didn't seem suitable for him to use, so he put it aside for now.

  The second item was a large knife, entirely blood-red, with threads of bloody light flashing intermittently, as if one could hear the sound of wailing ghosts and howling wolves. This spiritual instrument was obviously a ghostly treasure, with immense power, but Xiao Chen thought for a moment before deciding to abandon it. As an Orthodox cultivator, he would inevitably get into trouble if someone discovered him using a ghostly magic treasure.

  Shaking his head, he put down the large knife and Xiao Chen's eyes fell on the last extreme-grade spiritual artifact.

  This is a spirit tool similar to a ring, all black and extremely inconspicuous. However, after Xiao Chen tested it, he was overjoyed. After infusing spiritual energy into the tool, it can automatically transform into a Xingeng sword aura, sharp beyond compare, with an astonishingly powerful force. Xiao Chen even imagined that if he were to punch someone and then suddenly release the Xingeng sword aura, what kind of scene would unfold... Such a useful tool for killing people and stealing treasures must be worn immediately.

  Although he didn't find a suitable attacking spirit tool, Xiao Chen was already very satisfied. Moreover, the spirit tool he obtained from Feng Hei Lao Gui was also top-notch, and its power was in no way inferior to some of the weaker extreme-grade spirit tools. He thus dispelled the idea of re-refining another spirit tool.

  He put away all the spiritual instruments, and Xiao Chen's eyes fell on that pile of spiritual stones. After sorting them out, he estimated that there were over 180,000 low-grade crystal stones, over a thousand mid-grade spiritual stones, and two high-grade spiritual stones that could be used to control puppets. Xiao Chen took out a larger storage bag and put them away separately.

  Xiao Chen, there were many talismans in the morning. After searching through them and collecting dozens of high-grade talismans, he carelessly stuffed a large number of low-grade talismans into a storage bag.

  "Hmm, what is this symbol?" A yellowed, old-looking talisman with a few sparse strokes that seemed to come alive as a small sword appeared before Xiao Chen's eyes.

  "It feels familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before." Xiao Chen's eyebrows slightly furrowed, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, as he reached into the storage bag and pulled out a jade box, opening it to reveal one of the talismans inside.

  This talisman is exactly what Xiao Chen obtained from killing the black-clothed man outside Xiaoshan Cliff Town. It simply depicts a flying needle. Although these two are completely different, they have many commonalities: their spiritual power is not visible, their strokes are simple, and their colors are ancient and unremarkable.

  However, Xiao Chen had a premonition that these two talismans were definitely not simple objects, so he carefully put them away in the jade box.

  The remaining elixirs were carefully collected by Xiao Chen, except for those used in the Golden Elixir Realm. The rest were casually placed in a storage bag, after all, he had plenty of them.

  As for the jade slips, there were more than twenty of them found in a dozen or so storage bags. Xiao Chen glanced at one or two and thought they had some good skills, so he put them in a jade box and stored it in his storage bag.

  After finishing all these things, even if Xiao Chen's current cultivation is enough to rival the early foundation-building cultivators, he still feels a bit overwhelmed. He swallows several elixirs and sits down cross-legged to slowly refine the medicinal power.

  At this moment, a faint wave of spiritual power fluctuations came suddenly, and Xiao Chen's heart moved. His divine sense slowly spread out, covering an area of two hundred miles around him. At this moment, he was at the 15th layer of the Refining Qi stage, and his divine sense was not weaker than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment initial-stage cultivator. Adding the terrifying fivefold amplification of the Golden Seal, it was probably only a hair's breadth away from being comparable to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he wasn't afraid of being discovered by others.

  With a sweep of his divine consciousness, he sensed the source of the spiritual energy fluctuations. Xiao Chen's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a hint of contemplation appeared on his face. "It's actually them. Could I have misjudged? Are these people not cultivators after all?"

  After some deliberation, Xiao Chen slowly shook his head and put the matter aside for the time being. Tomorrow, he would directly return to the mountain gate; even if there were some fishy circumstances, it wouldn't implicate him. Thinking of this, Xiao Chen turned his hand over once more and took out several medicinal pellets to ingest, beginning his cultivation. Even if he couldn't establish a foundation, it could still make his spiritual energy purer.

  The next day, the sky was overcast and bright, Xiao Chen's eyes moved slightly, then slowly opened. A faint light flashed across his face and disappeared, restoring its calmness. Those dark pupils were even more profound, like a deep pool that couldn't be seen to the bottom, serene and tranquil.

  Pushing the door open, although secular spiritual energy is scarce, at this moment all things are revived and the early sun rises, revealing a vibrant vitality in the quietness, which actually brings out a few points of calm intention in Xiao Chen's heart.

  He has been on the path of cultivation for a short year, but he is no longer the carefree young man in the mountain village, but has stepped onto the vast road of immortality, becoming one of those who pursue the faint heavenly way.

  One year's time has completely changed him.

  Just then, a "creak" sound came from far away, Xiao Chen suddenly woke up and his face regained its calmness.

  Li Xiaoyi's eyes fell on the figure under the bamboo forest, and a hint of curiosity flashed in his eyes. After a moment's thought, he smiled and said, "Brother, you have a good interest, getting up early to watch the morning dew, what a elegant person!" As he spoke, he shook his head and swayed from side to side, full of bookworm spirit.

  Xiao Chen's heart slightly stirred, his face calm and serene, as he smiled and said: "Brother, good morning." Although this person had an extraordinary hidden cultivation method, Xiao Chen still sensed a faint aura of spiritual energy from him, indicating that he was also a cultivator. However, since the other party did not intend to reveal his identity, Xiao Chen naturally would not pry further.

  However, he had a good impression of this person and did not have any resentment in his heart.

  "My younger brother Li Xiao Yi, seventeen years old, from Beihua Province." Li Xiao Yi's eyes rolled and he chuckled.

  "Xiao Chen." Xiao Chen looked at her for a moment, hesitated slightly, and reported his real name.

  "Haha, I and brother met like old times, why not go have some breakfast together, chat for a while?" Although Xiao Chen only reported his name, Li Xiaoyi was completely satisfied with the invitation.

  Xiao Chen hesitated for a moment, then nodded and smiled: "Alright."

  Li Xiao Yi was overjoyed and the two of them immediately went hand in hand towards the front yard to meet Xian Lou.

  "I don't know where you want to go, brother. I'm just wandering around with nothing to do, why not travel together for a while?" At breakfast time, after reporting their ages, Li Xiaoyi called Xiao Chen "big brother" and referred to himself as "little brother", calling out in a very affectionate manner.

  Xiao Chen pushed away several times in vain, and then he no longer refused. The relationship between the two was quite intimate, and outsiders would never have thought that they had only just met yesterday.

  "Hehe, brother is preparing to go to Peng City, the journey is long and arduous, younger brother is afraid that you can't bear the wind and frost on the road, why not just stay here and live a carefree life?" Xiao Chen's eyes flashed slightly as he casually mentioned a place name, and laughed.

  "Peng City, I've heard of this place too. Alright, let's set off with Big Brother and take a trip to Peng City." Li Xiao Yi smiled mischievously and agreed in one breath.

  Xiao Chen heard this and smiled but did not speak, nor did he oppose it.

  Outside the city.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, our vicinity has been quite unsafe lately, with bandits and thieves roaming around, killing and looting without any restraint. Since we are all gathered here together, it is for the sake of personal safety. So on this journey, please take care of each other, and when encountering trouble, don't be a turtle hiding in its shell. Alright, time is not early, let's set off now."

  An elderly man stood at the front of the team, and he seemed to have a certain prestige. The merchants and travelers had no objection and nodded in agreement. The old man nodded his head in satisfaction, wanting to say that these mountain bandits usually chose single merchant teams or travelers to rob. This team had as many as five merchant teams, plus some scattered travelers, totaling over 300 people. It was unlikely that anyone would dare to provoke them.

  The old man waved his hand and mounted his horse again, and the troops set off in a long snake-like formation towards the city.

  "Big brother, those few people from yesterday are also in this team. I think that kid is still holding a grudge against us." Li Xiao Yi gritted his teeth and nodded towards the direction, Xiao Chen followed his gaze and indeed saw the old man from yesterday leading several young men into another car team. The prince Yang from yesterday was now filled with hatred as he looked over.

  Shaking his head, Xiao Chen was somewhat suspicious of the man's identity after what had happened yesterday and didn't want to stir up trouble, shaking his head and saying: "Let's go, why bother with him?"

  Li Xiao Yi smiled and nodded, and the two of them immediately walked towards the merchant group.

  Half a day later.

  Xiao Chen was sitting in a carriage of a merchant's house, Li Xiao Yi was opposite him, the two were chatting. There were also two other people in the carriage, one was a fellow of the merchant group, and the other was another passenger.

  PS: These two chapters are relatively dull and belong to the transition period. Well, baozi guarantees that Xiao Si is coming again.