Chapter 27 (Part 2)

Looking at the little golden plaque, bright and shining, Song Yuanxi could finally breathe smoothly. “Little Brother, I’m sorry. For the sake of your older brother’s peace and quiet, I have to drag you out to do business. In the future, your older brother will definitely compensate you.”

Song Yuanxi went to find the Foundation Establishment martial uncle responsible for registering rankings and changed the information, then hummed a little tune and returned happily to Wanhai Peak.

By such coincidence, he happened to catch the little yellow chicken secretly eating something. He went forward to take a look and found that it was actually the Healing Spring Pill he had casually placed by the head of the bed.

Song Yuanxi quickly thought of the thirty bottles of Return Origin Pills he had lost for no reason. His gaze drifted eerily toward the little chick. “Little Yellow, did you steal my pills?”

The little yellow chicken’s sesame-sized black eyes blinked and blinked, and its voice clucked with great joy. “Beans! Tasty!”

“Tasty my ass! Those are my life-saving pills. I finally managed to sneak them from my dad.”

Thinking of something, Song Yuanxi quickly rummaged through the items in his storage bracelet. Originally, after the competition, one-third of the pills still remained. Now there were barely any left. Even dispensable pills like Beauty Pills had been eaten clean.

Song Yuanxi’s breath instantly became unstable, and the spiritual energy in his body began to stir restlessly. He rolled up his sleeves, and the joints of his fingers cracked.

The little yellow chicken shivered in an instant. Daddy was going to hit the chicken again. Run!

The little courtyard instantly erupted into chaos. Song Yuanxi chased after the little yellow chicken and roared, “Unfilial son! Today, I must let you have a taste of bamboo shoots fried with shredded pork.”

As he spoke, he directly drew out the long whip made from ten-thousand-year vine.

“!!!”

The little yellow chicken’s heart trembled. It remembered this thing. It hurt when it struck, and it could even knock off feathers.

Fleeing for one’s life was a demonic beast’s instinct. Sensing danger, the little yellow chicken’s earlier thoughts of playing instantly vanished. It dodged east and hid west, and in the end, it actually ran straight out of the little courtyard, fleeing like the wind.

Song Yuanxi had originally only wanted to scare the little yellow chicken. This whip was for his own Body Cultivation use. Who knew that the little chick would be so easily frightened?

“Little Yellow, come back! Outside, it’s all chicken stew with mushrooms…” Song Yuanxi hurriedly chased after it.

From Wanhai Peak to Qingtian Peak, then from Qingtian Peak to Tianhong Peak, Song Yuanxi discovered a very tragic fact: this little chick was truly fast when fleeing for its life. He actually could not catch up.

“Little Yellow, Daddy’s good big son, hurry home.”

The little yellow chicken remained unmoved and sprinted on its little feet.

“Rebellious son, are you not listening? I’ll never give you extra meals again.”

The little yellow chicken hesitated slightly in its heart, but when it thought of being whipped, extra meals no longer mattered.

If the little yellow chicken had been capable of deep thought, it probably would have retorted directly: the world is so big, I can still go out and eat!

The world outside was truly so big. Daddy could not catch up. Daddy could never hit me again. Chirp, chirp, chirp—the little yellow chicken’s new world instantly opened.

As Song Yuanxi chased after it, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Why was the environment becoming more and more unfamiliar? This place was… Not good!

“Little Yellow, come back!” Song Yuanxi was anxious and shouted toward the fuzzy figure ahead that was almost out of sight.

Who knew the little chick would run even faster?

Song Yuanxi watched helplessly as that tender-yellow ball ran straight into the sect’s secret realm where the grand elders were in seclusion, while he himself was bounced back by the secret realm’s defensive boundary.

“What kind of broken chicken is this? Why can it ignore barriers?” Amid his worry, Song Yuanxi’s expression was shocked.

Even sect master True Lord Wenyuan would have to report to the grand elders in advance before entering this seclusion secret realm.

“It’s over. I can’t go in to catch the chicken. Little Yellow doesn’t have much time left.” Song Yuanxi sighed and prepared to seek help from the sect master.

Who knew that as soon as he turned around, a chaotic “chirp chirp” sounded behind him.

“Little Yellow!” Song Yuanxi turned his head excitedly, only to see his contracted beast pinched in an old man’s palm. The little yellow chicken’s eyes were full of terror, and it kept chattering and chirping without stop.

And in his sea of consciousness, it was full of the chick’s wailing.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“Scared, scared!”

“Save me! Save me!”

The voice was so sharp that it made his sea of consciousness hurt. Song Yuanxi had never seen the little yellow chicken so terrified. Even back when Daoist Master Yunhua had immobilized it, the little brat had still been single-mindedly trying to steal wine.

“Wanhai Peak disciple Song Yuanxi greets Grand Elder.”

Everyone staying in this secret realm was a big shot of the sect, at least starting from grand elder. In any case, addressing him this way could not be wrong.

“Song Yuanxi, a junior of the Song family.” Lord Baiyan held the little chick and asked, “Did this come with you?”

“It is this disciple’s little yellow chicken. Ah, no! It is this disciple’s contracted beast, Dafeng.”

“Dafeng, is it…”

Lord Baiyan’s gaze drifted over the tender-yellow little chick in his hand. He smiled without speaking. After quite a while, he loosened his hand and allowed the little yellow chicken to leap quickly back into Song Yuanxi’s arms.

Song Yuanxi caught the little yellow chicken and, without another word, stuffed it into his spirit beast pouch. Then he stepped forward again to apologize. “This disciple failed to restrain his contracted beast properly, causing it to trespass into the sect’s secret realm without reason and disturb the grand elders’ quiet cultivation. This disciple will go to Discipline Hall right away to request punishment.”

“One who does not know is not guilty. Considering your youth, you shall be exempted this time. If it happens again, you will certainly be heavily punished.”

Song Yuanxi nodded repeatedly to show that he understood. “This disciple respectfully obeys Grand Elder’s teachings and will certainly keep them firmly in mind.”

“Go. This is not a place you should come. Leave quickly.”

Song Yuanxi held the little yellow chicken and saluted, then slowly retreated. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the old man called him to a stop again.

“Wait.”

At Lord Baiyan’s call, Song Yuanxi’s scalp tightened. He did not know what he had done wrong now, and he stepped forward anxiously again. “Grand Elder?”

“I heard from Yuanruo that you are also preparing to enter Tushan Secret Realm?”

Song Yuanxi raised his head, his eyes blank. Lord Baiyan nodded faintly and said, “Yuanruo is my personal disciple.”

Lord Baiyan? The old man before him was Song Yuanruo’s master, Lord Baiyan!

“Song Yuanxi pays respects to Lord Baiyan.”

“Since you have come here, it is fate.” Lord Baiyan’s thoughts shifted. With a light flick of his fingertip, a pure strand of vital thought entered the little yellow chicken’s body. “This demonic beast carries fortune and disaster in equal measure. Before it matures, it is difficult to judge. Then let this child receive a stroke of fortune.”

“Go.” Lord Baiyan waved his hand, and the man had already vanished from where he stood.

Song Yuanxi was instantly as baffled as a monk who could not find his head. Calling him back so suddenly, then giving him no instructions at all—what exactly did that mean?

With Song Yuanxi’s current cultivation, he could not even perceive that strand of vital thought. In a daze, he left the secret realm, then quickly ran back to Wanhai Peak.

In his heart, he kept thinking of the little yellow chicken’s condition, afraid that this incident might leave the little chick with a serious psychological shadow. Who knew that when he opened the spirit beast pouch, the little yellow chicken was inside, sleeping deeply.

“You little broken thing. All my worrying was wasted on you.” Song Yuanxi did not know whether to laugh or cry.

This little interlude soon passed. The outer sect competition ended, and the top three thousand rankings were successfully decided. The sect announced that they would set off immediately two days later for Tushan Secret Realm.

Song Yuanxi was called back to Redcloud Peak. Daoist Master Yunxi earnestly instructed his son, repeatedly going over every matter that had to be paid attention to after entering the secret realm. In the end, he stuffed a storage pouch into his hands. “When traveling far, it is better to be rich than poor. Be prepared for anything.”

While Song Yuanxi opened the storage pouch to inspect it, Daoist Master Yunxi said again, “When you are outside, you must be careful in all things. Do not trust others too easily. Remember this!”

“I know, Dad. I really do treasure my little life. If I can’t win, I’ll run. I understand!” After finishing his inspection of the storage pouch, Song Yuanxi was satisfied. He raised his head and asked, “Did Dad prepare one for Yuanruo too? Has it been sent over? Do you want me to make the trip?”

“Lord Baiyan has his own arrangements for Yuanruo. His identity is confidential. Don’t get any crooked ideas.”

Song Yuanxi rubbed his nose, feeling guilty. A father was a father after all. The moment he had the slightest little thought, he was seen through.

“Pass these to Du Tianyu later.” Before leaving, Daoist Master Yunxi stuffed two more storage pouches into his hands.

Song Yuanxi watched his father’s departing back, then stared at the storage pouches in his hand in confusion. Had Dad started favoring one over the other? I get one, and Senior Brother Du gets two?

When it was time to depart, Song Yuanxi saw Jiang Lanyi standing side by side with Du Tianyu and finally came to a realization.

Once he understood, he could not help lowering his voice and laughing. “My old man is so repressed. Even wanting to take in a disciple has to be this awkward.”

“Senior Brother Du, Senior Sister Jiang.” Song Yuanxi walked up to the two of them and stuffed the storage pouches into their hands respectively.

Du Tianyu understood the look he received in an instant and accepted his pouch calmly. Jiang Lanyi, however, found it very difficult and was about to push it back.

“Junior Sister Jiang, accept it. This was prepared by Daoist Master,” Du Tianyu leaned closer and said quietly.

“Daoist Master? Daoist Master Yunxi?” Jiang Lanyi’s eyes showed surprise. She had never imagined that Daoist Master Yunxi would prepare something for her.

Du Tianyu felt envious. He had been Daoist Master Yunxi’s nominal disciple for many years, but he had never received this kind of treatment. Once Daoist Master reached Nascent Soul and accepted a disciple, Jiang Lanyi would probably become his senior sister.

“Junior Sister Jiang, Daoist Master values you. You don’t need to panic. Just perform well in the future and win glory for Redcloud Peak.”

The matter of accepting a disciple was all speculation. Until the very end, there could still be changes. He did not dare to state it clearly now, lest Jiang Lanyi carry expectations in her heart only to end up with nothing.

Song Yuanxi nodded along and merely said, “Take it, take it. My dad has plenty of good things. It’d be a waste not to take them. In any case, my dad can’t use them. If they’re just piled up, they’ll only gather dust.”

Since both of them said this, Jiang Lanyi could only accept it. In her heart, she felt endlessly grateful toward Daoist Master Yunxi, and her admiration for him deepened even further.

This time, the leaders were two Golden Core elders, both from the main peak. After a round of passionate speeches in the sect square, one of the elders took a small boat from his sleeve.

The small boat was tossed into the sky, and in an instant, it transformed into an enormous object. The two Golden Core elders flew onto the boat first and stood firm. Their voices rang out loudly. “Three thousand Qi Refining disciples, come aboard at once.”

All the disciples quickly formed neat lines and used the array to jump onto the boat. Song Yuanxi likewise followed the people ahead of him and jumped. Only after boarding did he discover that the inside held a whole other world.

“There’s actually multi-layered folded space inside?” Song Yuanxi found that no matter what, this boat could not be filled, and the farther in one walked, the larger the space became. He was simply stunned.

In the cultivation world, flying through the sky and burrowing through the earth was no longer a myth. As long as one cultivated to a certain realm, cultivators could all do it. But only two things were not obtainable by everyone.

Those were the law of time and the law of space.

Back when Song Yuanxi had nestled in the Scripture Pavilion to read books and flip through jade slips, he had been fortunate enough to browse through related content. To comprehend the law of time and the law of space, one had to have formed the Nascent Soul.

And among Nascent Soul cultivators, those who could slightly comprehend the two laws were exceedingly few. They were certainly all heavenly prodigies. Often, only after entering Soul Transformation would cultivators begin to sense the axis of time and the distance of space between heaven and earth.

“This is the sect’s Lotus Cloud Boat. The traveling boat was crafted by a grand elder of Wanhai Peak. The offensive and defensive arrays aboard were engraved by a grand elder of No-Return Mountain, and it is held by the sect master. There are only three in the entire sect.”

At some unknown point, Ji Wuyi had walked to Song Yuanxi’s side and was smiling as he gave the introduction.

Song Yuanxi, however, shuddered all over, purely frightened into losing his voice. Only after a long while did he finally say, “Senior Brother Ji, people can scare people to death. Don’t stand behind me without making a sound.”

Ji Wuyi nodded, his tone gentle. “Is that so? I thought the sound of my footsteps was sufficient. I did not expect to startle you. Junior Brother Song, my apologies.”

His expression was sincere and did not seem fake. Song Yuanxi could not help doubting himself. Was he really just too weak?

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