Geng Xinghe watched as Chi Changye suddenly turned into a stunned goose, unable to help bursting into laughter. Fearing he might embarrass his master, however, he quickly reined it in. “Yes, Master.”
Fortunately, Chi Changye heard none of it.
Some people may look alive, but they are already dying of embarrassment inside.
According to observers’ estimates, Immortal Lord Yaoguang was likely to become the very first Immortal Venerable in the Taiqing Realm to be praised to death.
Chi Changye walked out a few steps, then turned back.
The young man pulled a qiankun pouch from his sleeve and tossed it to Geng Xinghe. “Some little trinkets for self-preservation. Have fun with them.”
Geng Xinghe reached out to catch it, lifting his face with a smile. “Thank you, Master.”
At that moment, Geng Xinghe had no idea how heavy a gift Chi Changye’s casually dismissed “trinkets” truly were.
His offhand remark of “have fun with them” represented a foundation that even many minor sects combined could not muster.
Chi Changye turned on his heel and left.
He had already told him not to be so polite. Thank you, thank you, what was there to thank him for!
If he had known, he should have named himself “Thank You” back in the day.
When Geng Xinghe finished cleaning up the tableware and arrived at the back mountain, Chi Changye was practicing his sword forms.
The young man’s aura was naturally aloof and cold, and with a long sword in hand, he exuded an even sharper edge.
Chi Changye’s sword-like brows slanted upward, and his phoenix eyes curved slightly.
Such handsome features, placed on anyone else, would likely have conveyed an indescribable scholarly refinement or seductive charm.
What a pity that this was no one else; this was Chi Changye.
How could Chi Changye ever be refined, and how could he possibly be seductive?
A pair of phoenix eyes frosted over, and as the long sword flashed, it reflected a chilling light that struck a sudden, bone-chilling terror into anyone’s heart.
Geng Xinghe watched the cold glint sweeping past in Chi Changye’s hand, an unfamiliar emotion churning deep within his chest.
This god-like man was his master.
Suddenly, the long sword in Chi Changye’s hand lanced toward Geng Xinghe like lightning.
The boy’s face drained of color as he froze in place.
The blade brushed past his cheek, and a single strand of dark hair drifted down to the ground.
Chi Changye withdrew his sword, coming to a halt right before Geng Xinghe. His voice was as chilling as his gaze. “Are you afraid?”
“Afraid.” Geng Xinghe looked into Chi Changye’s eyes, hesitating for a moment before answering honestly.
“If you were afraid, why didn’t you dodge?” Chi Changye asked.
“I couldn’t dodge, and I didn’t want to,” Geng Xinghe replied in a low voice, his complexion still somewhat pale.
The boy looked up, his eyes shining brightly as he gazed at Chi Changye. “Master told me to trust you.”
Besides, his life had been saved by his master; if his master wanted to take it back, he would accept it gladly.
Chi Changye put away his sword, his expression softening. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to choose a weapon.”
“Yes.”
Geng Xinghe followed Chi Changye to a sheer rock face. He watched as Chi Changye raised a hand, and the stone wall slowly parted at his gesture, revealing a hidden stone chamber.
Chi Changye stepped inside first, and Geng Xinghe followed closely behind.
The stone wall closed shut behind the two of them.
The chamber possessed a world of its own.
Stepping inside, Geng Xinghe discovered it was a natural cavern.
The space within was immensely vast, as well as bright and spacious, making it feel no different from the outside world.
Geng Xinghe looked up and realized that countless mermaid pearls were embedded in the stone walls, emitting a soft radiance that illuminated the cavern as bright as day.
Chi Changye led Geng Xinghe deeper into the cavern.
The further they went, the lower the temperature dropped.
Halfway through, a stone arch bridge appeared before them.
The bridge was entirely natural, and the sound of gurgling water echoed beneath it. Yet, looking down, one would find that the water surface seemed thousands of feet below the bridge, bottomless and pitch black.
Down in the abyss, the water was an ink-black color, making it impossible to make out anything at all.
Chi Changye pulled a cloak from his qiankun pouch and tossed it to Geng Xinghe. “Put this on. The temperature deep within the lotus pond is not something your current cultivation can withstand.”
Geng Xinghe caught the cloak and offered his thanks.
Held in his hand, the cloak was soft, light, and thin, as though woven from moonlight or spun from evening clouds.
Geng Xinghe did not question why the cloak was so feather-light. He obediently wrapped it around himself and followed Chi Changye onto the stone bridge.
The moment he draped the cloak over his shoulders, the previously biting, chilling air suddenly grew warm.
The cavern felt as warm as spring in an instant.
Geng Xinghe looked at Chi Changye’s straight back, an instinctive question hovering on the tip of his tongue: Is Master cold?
Yet, remembering that this was Immortal Lord Yaoguang, the foremost figure among the three thousand immortal sects, he immediately decided he was overthinking things.
His master was omnipotent; a mere chill meant nothing at all.
The stone bridge looked short, but once they stepped onto it, they walked for a very long time.
Until the view suddenly opened up before them, revealing a golden lotus pond.
Standing before the pond, Geng Xinghe realized it was an entire expanse of golden lotuses.
Flower after flower bloomed, every single one crafted of pure gold.
Chi Changye stopped beside the lotus pond and turned back to look at Geng Xinghe. “Step over here and place your hand on it.”
Geng Xinghe obediently stepped up to Chi Changye’s side and placed his hand on one of the golden lotuses.
The golden lotus petals unfolded one by one.
Amidst the dazzling, blinding golden light across the entire pool, the mercury-like water of the lotus pond suddenly began to boil.
Starlight in shades of gold and silver wove together across the pond into a web of lightning, enveloping the entire lotus pond within it.
Suddenly, a piercing, high-pitched howl rang out from the lotus pond, filled with anguish, cruelty, and the agony of death.
Accompanied by the howl, an ivory-white bone whip burst out of the water, wreathed in black-and-red flames as it hurtled straight toward Geng Xinghe.
The bone whip radiated a murderous, ferocious aura.
Geng Xinghe furrowed his brow and raised a hand, seizing the bone whip right by its vital middle section.
With a crisp crack, one of the bone joints was snapped clean off by Geng Xinghe’s bare hand.
Geng Xinghe froze.
The boy looked at Chi Changye in dazed panic. “Mas, Master, it, it broke.”
Heaven and earth as his witness, he really hadn’t used any force at all.
Chi Changye silently pulled back the hand he had prepared to use to intercept the bone whip for Geng Xinghe. “It’s fine. Since it has already acknowledged you as its master, it can repair itself. Just don’t keep holding that broken piece of bone.”
Geng Xinghe released his grip as told.
True to his word, the bone whip mended itself seamlessly, obediently hovering and coiling around his side.
Geng Xinghe reached out and grasped the bone whip.
A piercingly cold intent to kill surged through the jade-like, whitened bone and straight into his body.
Geng Xinghe shivered involuntarily.
He brought the bone whip up before his eyes and saw two intricate seal-script characters carved into its hilt: Jiuyou.
Geng Xinghe raised his head to look at Chi Changye.
Chi Changye reached out, took the bone whip, inspected it for a moment, and handed it back to him. “Jiuyou. Formed when the spine of an ancient dragon god was refined by the purple lightning of the nine heavens after its fall. To think it would be the one to choose you.”
Chi Changye furrowed his brow slightly.
He had originally assumed that because Geng Xinghe’s body was fused with his own divine soul and primordial blood, the divine weapon he obtained would also be similar to his own.
He never expected it to be Jiuyou, the most ferocious and malevolent entity within the Nine Heavens Lotus Pond.
Was Geng Xinghe’s destiny truly fraught with such extreme peril?
A moment later, the furrow between Chi Changye’s brows smoothed out.
Very well. Since Jiuyou had chosen him, it at least proved that Geng Xinghe possessed sufficient strength to command the most formidable power in the Three Realms.
Chi Changye stretched out his hand, and a gorgeous long sword materialized within his palm. The blade was wreathed in crackling blue and purple lightning, just like Chi Changye himself, breathtakingly beautiful, yet utterly unapproachable.
Chi Changye spun the sword in a fluid flourish. “Watch closely. I’ll teach you how to store your divine weapon away.”